Average rating 4.9/5 stars across all Google and external reviews
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Bought directly from Moët Hennessy, the bottles are stored in bond at London City Bond Eton Park, in ideal conditions at a constant 13°C. For same-day deliveries, small quantities are kept in our office cellar, where the temperature is maintained between 11–13°C. We source all our bottles directly from the Maison or their official UK office, eliminating the risk of poor storage. This is crucial, as champagne quality is highly sensitive to heat: temperatures above 18°C accelerate maturity significantly, which compromises quality.
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.
The Plénitude (originally Oenothèque) concept has been years in development at Dom Pérignon. 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.
Weather: The 1996 season was full of contrasts with an unpredictable summer, but remains famous as a high-sugar, high-acid champagne vintage. In the months before picking, the spells of hot weather and the influence of north-easterly winds contributed to the initial maturity of the grapes. Initially lauded as the best since 1990 (maybe better!), it is undergoing a slight re-appraisal at the moment, as with some of the white Burgundies. High acidity and a tendency to oxidise appear peculiar bed-fellows, but the phenomenon has been noted with one or two champagnes.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand & Premier Cru
Grape Varieties: 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir
Ageing: 15 years on the lees
Dosage: 6 g/l
Drink: Now to 2030
Tasting Note: A pale colour with an immediately apparent complexity on the bouquet. Dense yet wonderfully racy, this shows amazing freshness and depth of fruit. Full-bodied without the high-acid profile of the vintage, the flavours evoke citrus and smoke. This Oenothèque 1996, enjoying what Richard Geoffroy describes as its 'second plénitude' of development, is now taking on a biscuity, honied richness, with hints of tropic fruit, figs and hazelnut adding suitable complexity. One of the very best.
Dom Pérignon Oenothèque Gift Box 1996 is an exclusive Limited Edition case featuring six 75cl bottles presented in a decadent and high-quality Dom Pérignon branded black wooden box (as shown in the pictures on the left).
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.
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.
Expert Reviews
18+/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. Disgorged April 2013. Deeper straw than the regular 1996 vintage Dom P. Much more expressive on the nose, although with lots of evidence of age. Complete and fresh on the palate – much more youthful than the regular 1996. For perfection I’d choose the nose of this and the palate of the regular! Masses of acidity still in evidence. Exuberant, creamy wine with no hurry to drink it. 12% Drink 2016-2030”
18/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“This bottle seemed to have broadened out and to taste almost rich - although admittedly it had spent a year or two in slightly warm storage conditions. Some crème patissière quality though with lots of acidity too. Even a hint of marzipan. To drink rather than hold, I think.”
97/100
Antonio Galloni
“The 1996 Dom Pérignon Oenothèque has really turned a corner over the last six months or so. When it was originally introduced the 1996 was hard as nails, today it is an exquisite Champagne that captures the essential brightness and energy of the year. Lemon, slate, oyster shells and white flowers stain the palate in an intense, beautifully sculpted Champagne of the highest level.”
19.5/20
Jancis Robinson MW
“Deluxe Brut Blend. 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. The densest wine we tasted at this presentation of World Champions. So dense it's almost rigid! Yet it is wonderfully racy. Beautiful balance, very vibrant and reverberant with the most extraordinary persistence. Lovely lacy texture. Bravo! Dosage was apparently 6.5 g/l.”
97/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Superbly toasty, highly expressive nose packed with sweet gunpowder, aromatic wood, ginger and mineral notes. Long and linear structure coming with super high, perfectly lined acidity. Lean, zesty and expansive. Highly youthful still, full of unreleased energy. Constantly improving. At CSWWC we awarded it as the World Champion Deluxe brut. I have come across several corked bottles, which makes me recommend this less whole-heartedly as I would based on a perfect bottle.”
97/100
Antonio Galloni
“The 1996 Dom Pérignon Oenothèque has really come around since I last tasted it some months ago. Up until recently, the 1996 was hard as nails. Over the last few months things have developed for the better, as the fruit is now much more expressive, within the context of the year, of course. The 1996 Oenothèque remains compact, but today there is great beauty to be found in the yellow stone fruit, slate, white flowers and lightly honeyed overtones that grace the finish.”
100/100
James Suckling
“This shows amazing freshness and depth of fruit while remaining agile and very clean. Full body, dense and layered on the palate. Goes on for minutes with each sip. Lots of mineral and chalk character too. A fabulous Champagne. A blend of half Pinot Noir and half Chardonnay.”
97/100
Antonio Galloni
“The 1996 Dom Pérignon Œenothèque offers up layers of pastry, lemon, smoke and toastiness. At first deceptively understated, the wine turns positively explosive and layered on the palate, showing remarkable tension, elegance and power, all wrapped around a seriously intense frame. The balance between fruit and acidity is awesome. This is a marvelous DP Œeno. The Œeno is the same juice as the regular Dom Pérignon, except the Œeno is aged on the cork while the regular DP is aged in crown-sealed bottles. Once disgorged, the Œenos get a slightly lower dosage than is typical for the original release DP. This bottle was disgorged in 2008.”
96/100
Bruce Sanderson
“Its complexity was immediately apparent on the bouquet, offering butterscotch, toast and mineral elements. An extremely well-balanced ’96, without the high-acid profile of the vintage, the flavours evoked candied citrus, seashore and smoke, reminding me of a great Corton-Charlemagne”
99/100
Roger Voss
“A magnificent Champagne, one that is light, delicate, yet packed with character. It is beautifully balanced, with a bone-dry character, just softened by the toastiness that is developing. Expect this to age for many years”
The newly released Dom Pérignon 2018 is the first of what promises to be a fascinating trilogy of great, solar-driven vintages – 2018, 2019 and 2020 – and importantly, it is Vincent Chaperon’s first creation as Cellar Master.
Dom Pérignon 2017 looks set for an intriguing evolution and is unlikely to remain on the market for long as attention turns to the 2018 release. Some great scores from wine writers.
Read Jancis Robinson's review of our recent Dom Pérignon Retrospective tasting - including scores, tasting notes and a league table of all 23 champagnes tasted, spanning 1990-2009. Full article on JancisRobinson.com.
Our once-in-a-lifetime champagne tasting celebrating Richard Geoffroy's magnificent achievements over his 28-year career was a roaring success, with guests sampling 23 champagnes from 1990-2009. Read the review from Simon Field MW and browse photos from the event here.
A comparison of eight vintages of Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon, from newly released 2009 to very old 1995 with their respective winemakers, Benoît Gouez and Richard Geoffroy.
