An early pioneer and innovator, the House of Ruinart remains to this day the most exclusive of Champagnes. Ruinart was the first Champagne estate to acquire it's own crayeres for the purpose of ageing wine, the only ones to be classed as a historic monument. The depth of the pits and the chalk from which they are made provide perfect thermal stability and optimum humidity. The constant low temperature leads to a slow prise de mousse, an effervescence of incomparable quality. The fermenting wines are aged and riddled over a period of weeks, constantly turned to release the lees sediments. After disgorgement and liqueur doseage, they are returned to the crayeres for several more years of maturation.