24 December 2017
Elegant and very fine bubbles. A bit simple and light on the nose, but they improve over time.
Every one with his own peculiarities, but all three similar in their freshness and minerality. Crispy on the palate. 2003 with more body than the 2006. All a bit disappointing in the final. Overall I like the Rosé 2000 the best.
Definitely overpriced, but, as every other luxury product of the LVMH Group, Dom Pérignon commands a (huge) Premium. If you want the privilege to celebrate with this very prestigious Champagne you have to pay the price: around 150 CHF for the 2003 and 2006, more than 300 CHF for the Rosé 2000. And it doesn’t stop here. P2 and P3 versions of this iconic Champagne are also produced and even more wildly overpriced.
The regular Dom Pérignon is released after having spent 7 years on the lees. P2 after 12 to 16 years in the cellar and sells for more than double the price, above 300 CHF. P3 after 30 to 40 years and get paid at least 1’000 CHF more, but easily even 2’500 CHF.
The first vintage of this famous brand was 1921 and up to 2009 another 41 vintages have been produced. These days 5 mio bottle of this famous wine are supposedly produced in each vintage year. For sure many more than the ones produced in the 17th century by Dom Pierre Pérignon himself, a Benedictine monk who pioneered a number of winemaking techniques.
Dom Pérignon was cellar master at the Abbey in Hautvillers and made important contributions to the quality of champagne wines, which back then were predominantly still and red. Sparkling wines became dominant only 200 years later, once the glass bottles were able to resist the pressure created by the second fermentation.
Among Dom Pérignon main insights was the observation that different kind of soils imparted different attributes to the grapes. He therefore hit upon the happy idea of blending the produce of different vineyards together. He also succeeded in obtaining perfectly white wine from black grapes and to find a method of regulating the natural tendency of the wines of his region to sparkle and of producing a perfectly sparkling wine. Dom Pérignon also found out a method of clearing wine, so as to preserve it perfectly limpid and free from deposit way before 1818, when a man in the employment of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (nowadays also part of LVMH Group) developed the technique of remuage.
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Type: Sparkling
Vintages: 2000, 2003, 2006
Producer: Moët& Chandon, LVMH
Price Range: Luxury (>100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 4/5