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 winemaking where they go to extreme lengths to keep each step of the winemaking 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.
This champagne is packaged as Oenothèque before the plenitude name was started on the labels, the two terms P2 and Oenotheque are the same wines in the bottles, it was purely a difference of packaging and for a period of years some vintages exist in both versions of the packaging. After studying the natural course of ageing that vintage champagne seems to undertake, the winemaking team found that, rather than improving steadily and linearly (as is the case with many wines), it develops and matures through three defined stages in its life.
The first release (P1) comes approximately 8 years after the harvest and is the style that most consumers are familiar with. The second stage (P2) takes roughly 15 years, during which time the cuvée takes a profound leap to a new quality level where it will plateau for many years in terms of improvement. Finally, the third Plénitude (P3) will see the champagne ageing another 20-30 years until it reaches its ultimate peak. Initially these mature vintages were made available under limited release called “Oenothèque” but were re-branded in 2014 as “Plénitude”. Read more about the Plénitude concept
here. The big difference between the first release (P1) and P2 is the closure for tirage or bottle fermentation; in first release crown caps are used and for P2 and P3 the wines are bottled at tirage with natural corks. This creates a different interaction with the liquid and the outside world, it is believed the corks are giving a more reductive environment and holding back the development which happens slower and some cork influence is a very positive factor. These bottles however need to be hand disgorged because at present machinery doesn't exist to automate the process and of course they have to be checked for any negative cork impact.
Weather: The 1992 season experienced a very long and extremely hot summer with isolated hail storms. However, the grapes had superb levels of ripeness and a high total acidity level and champagnes from this vintage have very good ageing potential. Originally released after eight years on the lees, Dom Pérignon Rosé 1992 was noted for its expressive fruit flavour. Now with significantly more ageing, Rosé P2 1995 has developed into an incredibly complex Pinot Noir-dominant cuvée that is bursting with flavours.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand & Premier Cru
Grape Varieties: 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay | inc. 20% Red Wine
Ageing: 16 years on the lees
Dosage: 6.5 g/l
Drink: Now to 2035+
Tasting Note: On the nose, citrus fruits combine with a hint of toasty notes, opening up to a palate of dark forest fruits and a long lasting finish. This is a truly superb rosé that is full of balance and youthfulness even at nearly twenty-five years of age. An exceptional champagne.
Uniquely only available as a vintage champagne produced in exceptional years from just two grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Dom Pérignon is an iconic wine with an unrivalled heritage. Often considered one of the founding fathers of Champagne itself, the Benedictine Monk Dom Pierre Pérignon spent forty-seven years working between 1668 and 1715 in the historic Abbey of Hautvillers pursuing his ambition to create the "best wine in the world".
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 winemaking where they go to extreme lengths to keep each step of the winemaking 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.
Based on Grand Cru villages plus one premier cru villages of Hautvillers, a wine of tension, power and long-ageing endurance and has been the vision of talented Chef de Cave, Vincent Chaperon, for over two and a half decades.
Chef de Cave History at Champagne Dom Perignon:
Vincent Chaperon 2019 to current | Joined Moët & Chandon in 1999 then in 2005 he joined Dom Pérignon as head of red winemaking for Dom Pérignon Rosé. The 2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé saw a reduction in the still Pinot Noir content to about 10%, down from previous levels that reached up to 28% in earlier vintages like 2004 and 2005. This adjustment aimed to create a Rosé with greater finesse and a more harmonious profile, aligning with Chaperon's vision for the wine. His meeting with Richard Geoffroy proved decisive, the beginning of a thirteen-year apprenticeship during which the two engaged in an ongoing dialogue with one another. The handover took place on January 1, 2019 when Vincent Chaperon became Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon.
Richard Geoffroy 1990 - 2018 | Joined the Moët & Chandon winemaking team in 1985, working with Dominique Foulon, chef de cave across both Moët and Dom Pérignon Champagnes at the time. Geoffroy's talents were quickly recognized; in 1990, he was named chef de cave of Dom Pérignon, mentored by Foulon until Foulon's retirement in 2000. Geoffroy was known for his 15 vintages of Dom Pérignon.
Dominique Foulon 1975 - 1990 | Under Foulon's guidance, Dom Pérignon produced several acclaimed vintages, including the 1975, which has been recognized for its quality and longevity. Foulon was known for his adherence to traditional Champagne-making techniques and his focus on creating wines with balance and aging potential. His approach laid the groundwork for the innovations that Geoffroy and subsequent Chefs de Cave would introduce. He played a crucial role in mentoring Richard Geoffroy.
André Bavaret 1940s – 1950s | One of the earliest cellar masters linked to the refinement of Dom Pérignon’s early vintages.