Dom Pérignon is only available as a vintage champagne and is only produced in exceptional years. Each vintage is a creation, singular and unique, that expresses both the character of the year, and the character of Dom Pérignon. After at least eight years of lees ageing in the cellars, the wine enters its first phase of interest, Plenitude 1, showing quite youthful fruit and broad texture from the lees contact. The signature Dom Pérignon aromatic is that "hint smoky" character a result of the reductive wine-making where they go to extreme lengths to keep each step of the wine-making process free of oxygen. With every sip of Dom Perignon you always have that purity of fruit character, depending on the vintage you normally see the Pinot Noir fruit dominate, which are those red fruits like raspberry, peach and dark cherry. The Chardonnay adds a supporting layer of chalky texture and delicious fruit in the yellow spectrum like plum, apple and tropical notes of pineapple.

Weather: The 2013 winemaking year proved a welcome reconnection with the glorious past of late harvest vintages. After a cold, wet winter, spring was grey, quite cool and extremely rainy. The vines began budding about two weeks later than the average for the decade, a delay that lasted all the way until the harvest. The hot and dry summer was the sunniest on record in the Champagne region, proving particularly beneficial for the quality of the grapes. Rain in early September quickly ceded to easterly winds that kept the grapes healthy until they were picked. The harvest at Dom Pérignon ran from September 28th to October 15th. Tasting the fruit revealed a promising balance between acidic and full-bodied.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: Predominantly Grand Cru and Hautvilliers (Premier Cru)
Grape Varieties: 51% Pinot Noir | 49% Chardonnay
Lees Ageing: 7 years
Disgorged: October 2021
Dosage: 5 g/l
Alcohol: 12.5%
Drink: Now to 2030

Tasting Note: Aromas of crisp stone fruit, tangerine oil, buttered toast, pear, almonds and clear honey, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with bright acids and a pillowy, enveloping profile, concluding with a long, saline finish. - Tasted by William Kelley