Maison Ruinart brings its Blanc Singulier collection to Somerset, pairing its latest Chardonnay expression with Merlin Labron-Johnson’s seasonal cooking at Osip. I joined the first preview to experience a dinner built around Champagne, agriculture and the changing seasons.
Somerset has a way of making you slow down. Away from London’s usual circuit, the countryside offers a different setting for a luxury dining experience — one where the landscape, the produce and the people behind the table become part of the story.
That was the setting for Ruinart’s Savoir (Re)Faire Supper Series at Osip, Merlin Labron-Johnson’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Bruton. Across the evening, we moved through Blanc Singulier Editions 18, 19 and 20, alongside Dom Ruinart 2013, with each pour matched to a menu shaped around the ingredients available to the kitchen.
The result was less a traditional Champagne dinner and more an exploration of how wine and food respond to the conditions around them.
Champagne That Starts With the Weather
The new Blanc Singulier Edition 20 is the latest chapter in Ruinart’s collection, following Editions 18 and 19. Built around the 2020 harvest, the cuvée explores how changing climate conditions influence Chardonnay and the decisions made during winemaking. The evening began with Edition 20, paired with cucumber and mirabelle plum, followed by a Caerphilly tart, tomato water with marigold oil, sourdough and fermented tomato butter.
It was a gentle introduction. The Champagne’s freshness worked naturally with the seasonal ingredients, while the food remained precise without feeling overly constructed. Nothing appeared to be there simply for visual effect. That connection between the bottle and the landscape became increasingly apparent as the dinner progressed. Ruinart is considering how changing conditions are expressed in the vineyard; Osip is responding to what those conditions produce in the kitchen.
The most interesting part was being able to experience that idea rather than simply hear about it.
An Unexpectedly Smoky Magnum
A chilled yellow courgette soup with langoustine and peach followed, paired with Blanc Singulier Edition 19. Then came Edition 19 in magnum, served with a beetroot taco — and this was one of the evening’s surprises for me. The Champagne had a smoky, almost BBQ-like character that I wasn’t expecting. It felt distinctly autumnal, and I could easily imagine returning to that bottle alongside a late-season BBQ rather than treating it simply as an aperitif.
It was one of those moments that made the tasting feel personal. Rather than simply comparing vintages, you start thinking about where and when you would actually want to drink them. The magnum format also made the experience feel different, particularly as part of the progression through the evening. It was not just the spectacle of a larger bottle; the wine seemed to invite a little more attention.
Dom Ruinart 2013: My Favourite Pour
The evening then moved into one of its more substantial courses: a pithiviers of wild game with elderberry sauce and a salad with preserved walnuts, paired with Dom Ruinart 2013. The richness of the pastry and game created a completely different dynamic from the lighter opening dishes. The Champagne brought the acidity and structure needed to balance the dish without overpowering it.
And, personally, Dom Ruinart 2013 was my favourite Champagne of the evening. Sometimes the simplest assessment is the most honest: I just preferred the way it tasted. For me, this is where a Champagne dinner becomes particularly engaging. A bottle can have an impressive history and a prestigious name, but the experience ultimately comes down to how it tastes, how it works with food and whether you genuinely want another sip.
With Dom Ruinart 2013, I did.
A Journey Through the Collection
One of the strongest aspects of the evening was its progression. Edition 19 appeared in both standard and magnum format, while Edition 20 opened the dinner and Edition 18 returned towards dessert. Rather than tasting the wines in isolation, we experienced them as part of a menu that continually changed in tone.
The food moved from vegetables and seafood into game, pastry and finally dessert, while the Champagne shifted with it. That made the Blanc Singulier collection feel less like a product launch and more like an ongoing exploration of vintage, format and place.
Osip’s cooking was central to that experience. The pairings never felt like they were trying too hard to explain themselves. The ingredients were allowed to remain recognisable, while the Champagne brought another layer to each course.
Ending With Edition 18
The evening closed with Blanc Singulier Edition 18 in magnum, alongside toasted rice ice cream with plum and umeshu, followed by a fig leaf custard tart with caramelised black fig, burnt fig leaf ice cream and blackcurrant. A garden herb cannoli brought the meal to a close.
It was an unexpected finale, bringing together toasted rice, Japanese umeshu, fig and herbs rather than relying on a more familiar Champagne-and-dessert pairing. After the richer game course, the menu had completely changed direction again, and the Edition 18 magnum provided another perspective on the Blanc Singulier collection. It was a fitting end to a dinner built around change — from vintage and format to ingredients and seasonality.
The Ruinart Savoir (Re)Faire Supper Series
The Ruinart Savoir (Re)Faire Supper Series at Osip will take place on Friday 16 October, Friday 20 November and Friday 11 December 2026.
Each dinner will explore seasonal British produce, with menus shaped by the ingredients available at the time and paired with Ruinart Blanc Singulier Editions 19 and 20. With just 12 seats per sitting, the intimate format is designed to evolve with the seasons.
What stayed with me from the preview was how naturally the collaboration brought its central idea to the table. Climate, agriculture and craftsmanship can sound like distant concepts when discussed separately. At Osip, they became something much more immediate: ingredients on a plate, Champagne in a glass and a dinner that changed as the evening unfolded.
And ultimately, that is what made the experience work. The story was not simply about what was being poured, but about how nature, craftsmanship and the dining experience continue to change together.
To book tickets to the Ruinart Savoir (RE)Faire Supper Series @ Osip, email reservations@osiprestaurant.com or call 01749 987277.
