Dom Pérignon, 2008
A new vintage of Dom Perignon always elicits a good deal of excitement. Preceding the tighter, not-quite-ready 2008 seems to have been a sensible tactic; the 2009 that we tasted is as upfront and present as we can remember a young DP being. Similarities have unsurprisingly been drawn with 2003 and 2006, the two other particularly warm vintages in the noughties, and yet as Geoffroy remarked “we made 2009 thanks to the experience we gained in 2003”. The house style is still very much on show; the reduction, the tightly wound flavours, the ripeness, but the latest release seems far less extreme and less radical than the 2003. If the latter was a dark, ,earthy and robust, 2009 is a ripe, bright embrace, sun-kissed in texture and loaded with fruit.
critic reviews
The 2008 Dom Pérignon remains one of the all-time greats here. No longer a young Champagne, the 2008 has begun moving into its first plateau of maturity. Baked apple tart, citrus confit, marzipan and lightly honeyed overtones are front and center. A touch of reduction—always present in 2008—adds freshness and energy.
Unquestionably the finest Dom Perignon of the decade, the 2008 Dom Perignon is drinking brilliantly today, wafting from the glass with notes of citrus oil, ripe orchard fruit, peach, buttered toast, pastry cream, iodine and smoky reduction. Full-bodied, rich and fleshy, it's vinous and layered, with a deep core of sweet fruit, racy acids and a long, saline finish. The 2008 is aging very gracefully.
Easily the best Champagne I had all year, first tasted at a château lunch. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and eventually bought a bottle for my husband's 50th. Just so much power and precision, while still having the delicacy, easy glamour and the most moreish delivery of fresh acidities and fleshy citrus. At it opens, toasted brioche, liqourice root and oyster shall curl out of the glass. Richard Geoffroy cellar master.