By Lawrence B. Johnson

There’s a charming paradox in the exuberant freshness of Ruinart’s Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne. It comes from the oldest house of Champagne, a continuous producer since 1729.

If the Ruinart brut doesn’t exactly qualify as inexpensive, at around $65, it’s still an excellent value among high-quality Champagnes. This lovely sparkler, alluringly presented in an 18^th-century-style clear, bulbous bottle, offers an exhilarating flavor blend of steely citrus and brioche, with a mousse so generous and constant that it seems to be fed by some unseen source. The descriptor “blanc de blancs” indicates that this white wine is made entirely from white grapes, meaning 100 percent Chardonnay.

The wine’s lean, crisp profile matches up well with just about anything from an omelette to broiled salmon to lamb chops. It also makes for heady sipping with a light lunch or late-night nibble of paté or cheese. Then there’s the simple anytime communion of just you and the glass.

Ours is a Champagne household, a place where the incredible range of wines from Reims and Aÿ and Épernay in the Champagne region northeast of Paris, from large producers and small, has a regular place in the rotation of dinner-table accompaniments. And the non-vintage Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs has been a favorite since we first visited the producer’s ancient cellars many years ago.

Non-vintage Champagnes like this one are literally composed from the juice of multiple vintages, with one or two of the most recent harvests dominating the blend. Ideally, the basic flavor profile of such combinations remains consistent from year to year.

A tour of Ruinart’s enormous storage caves, in Reims, is to be recommended almost as fervently as the wine itself. Hand-dug in Roman times (you can see the claw marks of simple tools), the chalky cavern descends 100 feet to provide a vast, meandering repository for hundreds of thousands of bottles old and new. It would take some serious global celebrating before Ruinart exhausted its store of Champagne. Ah, happy thought.

A.R. Lenoble Rosé Terroirs Brut Champagne ($55). This non-vintage rosé greets the eye with a pale salmon hue and the palate with light strawberry and irresistible finesse. There’s springtime in this glass. As zesty as it is delicious, the A.R. Lenoble Rosé Terroirs Brut sends up streamers in a sustained and beguiling froth.

It is blended from Chardonnay (90 percent) and Pinot Noir (10 percent), both from Lenoble’s own vineyards. This rosy Champagne made a perfect accompaniment to baked cod prepared with vegetables in a soy broth. The name Lenoble, by the way, was chosen by founder Armand Raphael Graser when he founded the company in 1920, as a tribute to the inherent nobility of Champagne.

Tags: A. R. Lenoble, A. R. Lenoble Rosé Terroirs, Ruinart, Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs