Dom Pérignon
Dom Pérignon - An Alliance of Ripeness, Vibrancy, Lightness and Intensity
You have certainly heard of Dom Pérignon, but have you ever personally popped a bottle? A glass of the finest vintage Dom sipped out of a crystal glass provides such a luxurious and hedonistic experience for your nose and taste buds, that you will never forget the moment.
Dom Pérignon Champagne History
Dom Pérignon is made by Moët & Chandon, a venerable Champagne house that produces Dom as one of its prestige cuvée. The Dom champagne originates from the 17th century and got its name by the monk Dom Pierre Pérignon.
Dom Pierre Pérignon came from a family of eight children in the Champagne region of France. Pérignon’s family owned a few vineyards, so he was familiarized with the process of winemaking. Pérignon lived in the Abbey of Hautvillers, and was also a cellar master. Thanks to his hard work, the abbey doubled its vineyard size. Pérignon’s religious beliefs and philosophy of life ignited his dreams of creating “the best wine in the world.” today known as the famous Dom Pérignon!
While this remarkable monk didn’t invent the famous Dom wines (as the myth suggests), Pérignon made essential improvements to the method of producing champagne wines. The Abbey of Hautvillers, the monastery where Pérignon lived and spent most of his life is today the prestigious Moet & Chandon champagne house.
Dom Pérignon Style
The process of creating Dom wines still remains a mystery, but we know that Dom Pérignon is made from grapes sourced from Grand Cru vineyards of Champagne (both from the Côte des Blancs and sub-regions of Montagne de Reims), and the First Growth sites of Hautvillers.
The Dom champagne is always a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. While the percentages in Dom bottles change from vintage to vintage, the wine is always based on these two key types of grapes, typically between 50/50 and 60/40 favoring either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Making white wine from red grapes and blending the grapes is what makes a Dom champagne so superior and unique.
Dom Pérignon Vintages
Dom Pérignon is always a vintage champagne that must age for a minimum of 7 years in a bottle before release. This time-aging on lees gives the wine complexity and richness. The vintage Dom is a truly outstanding champagne, featuring intense flavors of fruit, oak, and leesy notes from its years of aging in a bottle. The overall balance of ripeness, vibrancy, and lightness, the perfect concentration of different textures, plus the aromatic intensity, make for a striking tasting experience that will excite and pull out all your senses in different directions.
How the Best Dom Perignon Vintages Develop?
Once you’re finished with your drink, and the guests have left, it’s incredibly easy to slip into deep, intense contemplation. The question that hovers above a Dom wine is always the same – “How was this perfection achieved?”
The answer is almost always different, however, and it depends on a staggering amount of factors. In nearly all cases, you can spot very clear differences between different vintages of the same Dom Pérignon. The differences between Dom vintages can occur due to that year’s weather conditions, geological differences between one vineyard and another, the ever-changing and innovative methods used to nurture and collect grapes, and so much more.
2008 Dom Pérignon Vintage vs. 2006 Dom Pérignon Vintage
For example, in 2008, the weather wasn’t exactly what you’d call ideal for making a Dom champagne, with grey, overcast skies, and noticeably less heat. However, in a miraculous turn of events, the weather cleared up right before harvest took place, bringing healthy north-eastern winds and helping the winemakers deliver what is considered one of Dom Pérignon’s strongest recent performances.
The 2008 Dom champagne boasts a stunning, luminous aromatic bouquet, with a complex and compelling combination of stone fruit, zesty citrus, and delicate, lush white flowers. As the 2008 Dom unfolds in your glass, the aromatics turn towards a cozy, warm spectrum, featuring notes of spice and roasted wood. Once it reaches the palate, the wine captivates your mouth and mind with a well-balanced, beautifully-structured drinking experience, where most of the show is stolen by the potent, pronounced fruit and a slender, minimalistic purity. The finish is delightful and expansive, demonstrating playful energy that lures you back in for another sip.
Compare that to the 2006 Dom champagne vintage, whose incredibly hot and dry climate conditions weren’t working in the grapevines’ best interest. During the initial period of champagne aging, the 2006 Dom was almost entirely characterized by a strong, ripe fruit presence, without too much character and nuance to speak of. Even from those conditions, the 2006 Dom champagne came out like a blockbuster and continues to capture the hearts and minds of wine lovers around the world today.
On the nose, the 2006 Dom champagne demonstrates exceptional purity, and a light, airy brightness, like a fragrant spring breeze in the countryside. The wonderful floral throughline is complemented perfectly by a warm, almost nostalgic essence of candied fruit, hay, and toasted aromatics. On the palate, the succulent, seductive nature of the Dom Pérignon is brought to the forefront, with stunning fruity potency and incredibly silky textures. As you approach the finish, a slightly bitter dose of saline, oceanic presence puts a spell on your mind, as though you were enjoying an expansive, vast ocean view from the top of a cliff.
Dom Pérignon - A Pure Delight Both for Collectors and Champagne Enthusiasts
Those among us with the privilege of being able to collect wines know that a wonderful wine shines brightest when you share it with the people you love the most. A stunning bottle of top-quality Dom Perignon is not only a great conversation piece, but a way to experience cultural enlightenment, and a connection to a more wholesome, natural lifestyle, the kind we dream about when we imagine mountain cottages and countryside mansions.
Each Dom Pérignon bottle is like a snapshot of its motherland and the year of its birth. It’s not too difficult to notice unique aspects of the region’s terroir or imagine the amount of hard work and dedication it took to create such a flawless elixir.
Every second spent drinking a bottle of Dom opens a new window into a different time, and this nostalgia can be quite infectious when combined with a group of beloved guests.
People who love fine cuisine often find themselves enjoying a tasteful wine pairing to go along with said food. Great wines reward creativity and culinary experience, so don’t be shy to combine a Dom champagne with a variety of food pairings.
For starters, we recommend pairing a lovely Dom champagne with a wide variety of fine cheeses, as well as olive oil and hearty meat-based dishes. Share a taste of wine history with the ones that matter the most.