Dom Pérignon
Vintage 2017 X Vintage 2018 (2 bottles in a gift box)
Two bottles, two characters. The Vintage 2017: yellow colour with green hues, nose of jasmine and wet earth, creamy palate with candied zest, mineral and toasted finish. The Vintage 2018: pale yellow colour with golden hues, tropical fruit, golden kiwi and mango, a full palate ending on apricot.…
THE CUVÉES OF MAISON DOM PÉRIGNONThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
Two bottles, two characters. The Vintage 2017: yellow colour with green hues, nose of jasmine and wet earth, creamy palate with candied zest, mineral and toasted finish. The Vintage 2018: pale yellow colour with golden hues, tropical fruit, golden kiwi and mango, a full palate ending on apricot. Serve them side by side, between 8 and 11°C, to see how two such different summers produce two different Dom Pérignon champagnes. James Suckling rates the 2017 96/100 and the 2018 99; both will still benefit from further ageing.
The composition
Terroirs
This gift box brings together two consecutive vintages that could not be more different. 2017: a hot, dry summer spoiled in late August by rain and botrytis, a strict selection, 61% chardonnay — its highest share since 1970 — against 39% pinot noir, and the smallest volume in the house's history, after almost nine years in the cellar. 2018: a very sunny spring, a summer hotter than 2003, harvest opened on 20 August on perfectly healthy grapes, 54% chardonnay mainly from Chouilly and 46% pinot noir from Verzenay and Aÿ, 12.5% vol.
About this house
Dom Pérignon takes its name from the Benedictine monk who arrived at the Abbey of Hautvillers in 1668. Owned by Moët & Chandon since 1927, the house produces only vintage champagnes: the first, 1921, went on sale in 1936, and the house only declares a year when it has "something to say" — 2011, 2014 and 2016 did not receive this honour.
This gift box tells the story of a handover: the 2017 is the last vintage from Richard Geoffroy, cellar master for twenty-eight years; the 2018 is the first from his successor, Vincent Chaperon, in post since 2019. Two 75cl bottles brought together in a black gift box, to taste this passing of the torch.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
Open the 2017: its candied zest and minerality accompany the sweetness of raw king prawns.
Starter
The 2018, fuller-bodied, pairs with the firm flesh of spiny lobster, as the house recommends for shellfish.
Main course
The pairing suggested for the 2017: its herbal notes echo the herbs, its maturity stands up to pink meat.
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