Dom Perignon has a characteristic flavour profile of exotic fruits, vanilla and toasted bread that is hard to resist. Dom Perignon offers such reliably special moments of pleasure that for many champagne lovers it has become an essential part of their lifestyle
Dom Perignon is named after a benedictine monk who took over the cellar and vineyards at Hautevillers abbey in the Marne valley in 1668.
The historic figure Dom Perignon
Pierre Perignon introduced new levels of precision and systematic rule driven work in vineyards and cellars and his wines reached fame. It is misleading to say, that he invented champagne. Wine used to be transported in casks. In the 17th century it was begun to bottle wine, mainly for export to England. Secondary bottle fermentation that creates the bubbles was not planned or even desired. It occurred coincidentally when yeast fermented residual sugars in the bottles after bottling. The explosion of bottles and the popping of the cork during transport and in the cellar created losses and was also dangerous. To reduce losses Pierre Perignon secured the corks with cords.Adding sugar to increase the bubbles was already advocated in a paper in 1662 by Christopher Merret in England, and the first intentional sparkling wine was made in England. However Pierre Perignon tried to reduce the secondary bottle fermentation and not to encourage it. He saw it as a fault as he wanted to make serious wine and not a sparkling wine to be drunk young. He is however known to have created white wine from red grapes and blending red and white varietals. The great success of these sparkling wines in England led to the creation of stronger bottles that were blown at high temperature with English coal rather than French wood and progress with corks. These made the transport safe and transport of wines in bottle was made legal in 1728 and houses like Ruinart and Heidsieck were founded.
The origins of the cuvee Dom Perignon
There are two possible first Dom Perignons: In 1935 only 300 bottles of the 1926 vintage were shipped to England to celebrate the 100 years jubilee of the English agent Simon Brothers. This shows essential elements of modern marketing: A very special presentation of 18th century style bottle, label and a very limited quantiy. Only the best 150 customers where give 2 bottles each. The name Dom Perignon was not used though.
This was so successfull that in 1936 Robert-Jean de Vogué used the Dom Perignon brand for the first time and released the 1921 Dom Perignon of which about 2000 bottles were produced. The Dom Perignon trademark belonged to Mercier but with the marriage of Francine Durang-Mercier to Paul Chandon in 1927 the brand was gifted to Moet.
This was the first prestige cuvee of champagne.One could argue that Cristal is the first with its launch in 1876. But it was a sweet champagne only produced for the royal court in Russia. The first available Cristal after the relaunch of the brand is 1945.
What makes Dom Perignon so special
One needs to differentiate different periods.
1921 to 1943 Dom Perignon is actually Moet et Chandon Vintage that has been left on the lees for a longer time and is then transferred to the special Dom Perignon bottle. It is not a special selection of better wines but it is better to drink young. Today it is better to buy the original Moet and Chandon vintage bottles as they are fresher when kept in the original bottle
1947 to 1966: Dom Perignon is made from the best vineyards and old vines. It is very powerful champagne and not that different from Krug or Bollinger. The aromas developped over many years are generally different but the power and the structure are similar. Together with Krug, Bollinger and Cristal they are at the top of champagne.
1969 to 1988: 1969 is still fermented in oak but it is lighter than previous years. The 1970s are a phase of growing success for champagne. Production grows and Dom Perignon competes with the many new prestige cuvees that other brands have launched as e.g. Winston Churchill. Dom Perignon is not as concentrated as Bollinger or Krug any more but becomes a more stylish champagne that can be enjoyed younger than these two traditional brands.
1990 until today: Dom Perignon becomes part of the Louis Vuitton group and profits from increased marketing expertise. Production is extended very quickly and already with 1990 that is the vintage released for the new millenium celebration in 2000. Cultivated yeasts are being refined to cultivate a consistent style over the years and delicious aromas. This is the Dom Perignon most of us know: Citrus, pineapple, exotic fruit, toasted bread, freshly ground coffee, a very silky palate. With Comtes de Champagne it is the champagne that provides pleasure without complication. Many complications of how many years to cellar it or how many hours to open before drinking can be avoided with Dom Perignon. You pop the cork and the fun is there. This does not mean that one should drink it young. With many years of storage the influence of the yeast aromas that comes with the storage on lees goes back and Dom Perignon develops complex aromas that range from nuts, nougat toast and especially roasted coffee beans and are so complex that words do not suffice.
Which vintages stand out?
Of the 45 vintages even recent ones cost already serious money and so there is little point writing about magnums of 1961. As far as old vintages go, proceed with caution. Bottles eg from the 1960s and 1970s can be found at auction, especially Italian imports, but they are extremely unlikely to come close to the bottles that Richard Juhlin writes about and that generally come from the Moet cellars.
So 1988 is the oldest year that we recommend. It is still before its peak in our view but provides an extra dimension to more recent bottles. Good bottles should have a bright, pale colour. We even prefer it to the delicious 1990 as 1988 has more structure and mineral tension. 1996 is superb but still with relatively little evolution so for the extra money you spend it is not such a different experience. 2002, 2004, 2006 are excellent and different in style. 2008 is not drinking better now, but has even more potential for the future.or even 2010. 2002, 2003 and 2004 are excellent but 2004 wins if one considers value for money.
