Personal advice
It has the concentration, substance, and depth that recalls long-gone times. What makes it special, or is it just primus inter pares? The special thing is the late harvest. After the experiences with 1996, Vincent Chaperon’s team did not let themselves be tempted by high sugar levels to harvest in mid-September.
In numerous passes, shriveled, small, concentrated Pinot Noir berries with optimal phenolic ripeness were harvested when others had long since finished the harvest.
The intense fruit of lemon, mirabelle, and peach, roasted almond, hazelnut, brioche, and popcorn aromas are already a great seduction today. The creamy texture flatters the palate as often with Dom Pérignon.
Despite all its intensity, 2008 has a mineral, lively, weightless elegance and such a perfect balance of dosage and acidity that it simply makes you want the next glass.
Certainly the most impressive Dom Pérignon vintage in a long time is 2008. For connoisseurs looking for a champagne to follow its development over decades, it is an excellent choice. This vintage has what it takes to become a legend. Whether it will reach the intense nutty aromatics of the oak-fermented 1966 remains to be seen. In any case, it has a concentration and substance that recalls long-gone times.
If you are looking for an even silkier palate and multi-layered fruit aromas, the 2004 and 2002 offer quite exciting alternatives.
The scent of roasted almonds, hazelnut, brioche, vanilla, and citrus fruits pours out of the glass. Over hours, you can discover new nuances again and again.
On the palate, nuances of apricot and mirabelle complete the aroma spectrum of citrus and toast notes. The racy acidity is perfectly integrated into the silky texture. Despite all the creamy fullness, a prickling, mineral core provides a fresh kick. The minerality and the low dosage give this exceptional Dom Pérignon a weightless elegance. It impresses with substance and intensity, only to fade out with subtle elegance in the second half of the palate.
2008 is considered one of the best Champagne vintages of recent decades. It combines the ripeness of 1990 with the structure of 1996. The cool, sun-poor summer kept the acidity high – a mild, dry autumn nevertheless enabled exceptional grape ripeness. This slow, controlled ripening contributes to the complex, noble aromas that distinguish the 2008.
The Dom Pérignon 2008 is already an impressive experience today – but anyone who wants to experience countless layers not only of fruity, complex aromas should wait another 10 years. The drinking window extends to 2050 and beyond, provided the storage conditions are right.
The 2008 is ideal for collectors and connoisseurs who want to follow its development over decades.
Every Dom Pérignon fan – actually every champagne collector – should have a few bottles of the 2008 in the cellar. People will still be talking about this vintage in decades to come. What could be better than being able to join in the conversation at the next big champagne evening not just from memory, but knowing the star of the tasting is still in the cellar?
2004 and 2002 are already more developed and even silkier and more complex. Especially the intensely fruity 2004 is a special recommendation in terms of price-to-taste ratio.
The P2 has just come onto the market. Thanks to the significantly longer lees aging (disgorged in 2024), it shows a warm, nutty opulence. The fruit is less dominated by lemon. Pear, orange, pineapple, and yellow fruits are dominant. It is more complex, but it lacks the fresh minerality of the standard version.
In addition to the classic version, the Luminous Edition (with LED lighting), the Artist Edition (Lenny Kravitz), and the rare Legacy Edition are available – identical in content, only the design differs. However, the disgorgement date is relevant: Since the different editions are disgorged at different times, their character can differ noticeably – sometimes more than one would expect.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for individual batches of Dom Pérignon to disappoint. This may be related to the disgorgement, which extends over a longer period. Dom Pérignon is stored for a few months after disgorgement to overcome the stress of the process. Such cases occurred with the 2015 and 2006 vintages – affected bottles were, however, exchanged without any problems. So far, we have had no problems with the 2008 vintage.
Dom Pérignon is probably the most famous vintage champagne in the world and is produced in more vintages than many think. According to insider information, between two and six million bottles are produced per vintage. Through access to a variety of excellent vineyards, the house almost always has grapes of the highest quality – in difficult years, however, production is significantly smaller.
Dom Pérignon 2008 is the typical balanced blend for this prestige cuvée of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, each making up about half of the assemblage (55–60% depending on the vintage). All grapes come from renowned Grand Cru sites in Champagne: Pinot Noir from Aÿ, Bouzy, Mailly, and Verzenay, Chardonnay mainly from Avize, Cramant, and Chouilly. The Premier Cru portion from Hautvillers is mainly symbolic.
The grapes are harvested exclusively by hand to select only perfectly ripe fruit. Only the must from the first pressing is used for production. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks – a deliberate decision to preserve freshness, precision, and fruit.
Since the early 1990s, cellar master Richard Geoffroy has consistently relied on malolactic fermentation, in which the sharper malic acid is converted into milder lactic acid. This makes the palate fuller, the aromas fruitier, and the champagne more charming and rounder in its youth. However, this advantage comes at the cost of slight losses in long-term development: Champagnes without malolactic fermentation have more structure and develop more slowly.
After the base wines have been matured, hundreds of different parcels are available from which the final cuvée is composed. This assemblage requires sensory precision, experience, and intuition. After bottle fermentation, Dom Pérignon 2008 matured for nine years on the lees. The dosage is 5 g/l and is precisely matched to the acidity to ensure a round, harmonious style.
Dom Pérignon was not only a monk but a pioneer of viticulture in the Hautvillers Abbey. He created cuvées from white and red varieties after recognizing the possibility of making white wines from red varieties. However, he never made champagne or discovered the méthode champenoise.
Mercier was the first to produce a Dom Pérignon. With the marriage of Francine Durang-Mercier to Paul Chandon in 1927, the brand came into the possession of Moët.
Robert-Jean de Vogué, director of Moët, decided in the 1930s to launch a prestige cuvée. To do so, he had the 1921 vintage of vintage champagne bottled in a special antique bottle in 1936. The presentation is still the same. Starting with 1947, however, Dom Pérignon is made as a separate wine from particularly high-quality grapes.
→ More about Dom Pérignon: vintages, production & history
Read reviews on CellarTracker for Dom Pérignon 2008.
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin Cellar
It has the concentration, substance, and depth that recalls long-gone times. What makes it special, or is it just primus inter pares? The special thing is the late harvest. After the experiences with 1996, Vincent Chaperon’s team did not let themselves be tempted by high sugar levels to harvest in mid-September.
In numerous passes, shriveled, small, concentrated Pinot Noir berries with optimal phenolic ripeness were harvested when others had long since finished the harvest.
The intense fruit of lemon, mirabelle, and peach, roasted almond, hazelnut, brioche, and popcorn aromas are already a great seduction today. The creamy texture flatters the palate as often with Dom Pérignon.
Despite all its intensity, 2008 has a mineral, lively, weightless elegance and such a perfect balance of dosage and acidity that it simply makes you want the next glass.
Certainly the most impressive Dom Pérignon vintage in a long time is 2008. For connoisseurs looking for a champagne to follow its development over decades, it is an excellent choice. This vintage has what it takes to become a legend. Whether it will reach the intense nutty aromatics of the oak-fermented 1966 remains to be seen. In any case, it has a concentration and substance that recalls long-gone times.
If you are looking for an even silkier palate and multi-layered fruit aromas, the 2004 and 2002 offer quite exciting alternatives.
The scent of roasted almonds, hazelnut, brioche, vanilla, and citrus fruits pours out of the glass. Over hours, you can discover new nuances again and again.
On the palate, nuances of apricot and mirabelle complete the aroma spectrum of citrus and toast notes. The racy acidity is perfectly integrated into the silky texture. Despite all the creamy fullness, a prickling, mineral core provides a fresh kick. The minerality and the low dosage give this exceptional Dom Pérignon a weightless elegance. It impresses with substance and intensity, only to fade out with subtle elegance in the second half of the palate.
2008 is considered one of the best Champagne vintages of recent decades. It combines the ripeness of 1990 with the structure of 1996. The cool, sun-poor summer kept the acidity high – a mild, dry autumn nevertheless enabled exceptional grape ripeness. This slow, controlled ripening contributes to the complex, noble aromas that distinguish the 2008.
The Dom Pérignon 2008 is already an impressive experience today – but anyone who wants to experience countless layers not only of fruity, complex aromas should wait another 10 years. The drinking window extends to 2050 and beyond, provided the storage conditions are right.
The 2008 is ideal for collectors and connoisseurs who want to follow its development over decades.
Every Dom Pérignon fan – actually every champagne collector – should have a few bottles of the 2008 in the cellar. People will still be talking about this vintage in decades to come. What could be better than being able to join in the conversation at the next big champagne evening not just from memory, but knowing the star of the tasting is still in the cellar?
2004 and 2002 are already more developed and even silkier and more complex. Especially the intensely fruity 2004 is a special recommendation in terms of price-to-taste ratio.
The P2 has just come onto the market. Thanks to the significantly longer lees aging (disgorged in 2024), it shows a warm, nutty opulence. The fruit is less dominated by lemon. Pear, orange, pineapple, and yellow fruits are dominant. It is more complex, but it lacks the fresh minerality of the standard version.
In addition to the classic version, the Luminous Edition (with LED lighting), the Artist Edition (Lenny Kravitz), and the rare Legacy Edition are available – identical in content, only the design differs. However, the disgorgement date is relevant: Since the different editions are disgorged at different times, their character can differ noticeably – sometimes more than one would expect.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for individual batches of Dom Pérignon to disappoint. This may be related to the disgorgement, which extends over a longer period. Dom Pérignon is stored for a few months after disgorgement to overcome the stress of the process. Such cases occurred with the 2015 and 2006 vintages – affected bottles were, however, exchanged without any problems. So far, we have had no problems with the 2008 vintage.
Dom Pérignon is probably the most famous vintage champagne in the world and is produced in more vintages than many think. According to insider information, between two and six million bottles are produced per vintage. Through access to a variety of excellent vineyards, the house almost always has grapes of the highest quality – in difficult years, however, production is significantly smaller.
Dom Pérignon 2008 is the typical balanced blend for this prestige cuvée of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, each making up about half of the assemblage (55–60% depending on the vintage). All grapes come from renowned Grand Cru sites in Champagne: Pinot Noir from Aÿ, Bouzy, Mailly, and Verzenay, Chardonnay mainly from Avize, Cramant, and Chouilly. The Premier Cru portion from Hautvillers is mainly symbolic.
The grapes are harvested exclusively by hand to select only perfectly ripe fruit. Only the must from the first pressing is used for production. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks – a deliberate decision to preserve freshness, precision, and fruit.
Since the early 1990s, cellar master Richard Geoffroy has consistently relied on malolactic fermentation, in which the sharper malic acid is converted into milder lactic acid. This makes the palate fuller, the aromas fruitier, and the champagne more charming and rounder in its youth. However, this advantage comes at the cost of slight losses in long-term development: Champagnes without malolactic fermentation have more structure and develop more slowly.
After the base wines have been matured, hundreds of different parcels are available from which the final cuvée is composed. This assemblage requires sensory precision, experience, and intuition. After bottle fermentation, Dom Pérignon 2008 matured for nine years on the lees. The dosage is 5 g/l and is precisely matched to the acidity to ensure a round, harmonious style.
Dom Pérignon was not only a monk but a pioneer of viticulture in the Hautvillers Abbey. He created cuvées from white and red varieties after recognizing the possibility of making white wines from red varieties. However, he never made champagne or discovered the méthode champenoise.
Mercier was the first to produce a Dom Pérignon. With the marriage of Francine Durang-Mercier to Paul Chandon in 1927, the brand came into the possession of Moët.
Robert-Jean de Vogué, director of Moët, decided in the 1930s to launch a prestige cuvée. To do so, he had the 1921 vintage of vintage champagne bottled in a special antique bottle in 1936. The presentation is still the same. Starting with 1947, however, Dom Pérignon is made as a separate wine from particularly high-quality grapes.
→ More about Dom Pérignon: vintages, production & history
Read reviews on CellarTracker for Dom Pérignon 2008.
12.5
Champagne
Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
Sulphites
Frankreich
Moet & Chandon 9 Avenue de Champagne 51200 Epernay France