Dom Pérignon – ranking 1921-2015

48 vintages have been produced since the first declared vintage in 1921. During World War II, no champagne was created. [read the full champagne story] 

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Dom Pérignon – the name alone makes most of us break out in a delightful smile. When we think of this 17th-century monk from Hautvillers – so often pointed out as the father of Champagne – we either regard him with historical reverence, or associate his name with the proudest of all wine labels and everything else that follows in its glamorous, sparkling wake. Just imagine all the classic movie scenes that have been sweetened by a bottle of Dom Pérignon. Bond movies usually spring to mind. Countless times I’ve sat and sighed over agents with a license to kill: villains and exquisite women in seductively luxurious surroundings, all revelling in icy Dom Pérignon. Most champagne enthusiasts have their favourite scene. Mine is when Scaramanga, the man with the golden gun, shoots the cork off a bottle carried on a tray by his dwarfish servant Nic-Nack, along a now-famous Thai beach. The most comical scene must be when Sean Connery is served a 1957 Dom Pérignon, a vintage that never existed. Brilliant research!

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1921, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1937, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953,
1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1964, 1964, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978,
1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998,
1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2005, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015

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Production? Figures that the house does not correspond to, but sources have stated that it is estimated that approximately 4 million bottles of blanc and 800,000 bottles of Rosé are produced during a declared vintage.

Grapes? The grapes pressed to create Dom Pérignon are from eight different Grand Crus: Aÿ, Bouzy, Verzenay, Mailly, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Le Mesnil and the legendary Hautvillers Premier Cru.

Today, Dom Pérignon is a global brand, but its history began with Dom Pierre Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who in 1688 became responsible for supplies and finances at the monastery of Hautvillers near Épernay. One of his responsibilities was managing the cellars and making wine. At the time, sparkling wine was considered a mistake, indicating that the wine had been “spoilt”. Some wines had not always finished their first fermentation and needed to be bottled before winter to preserve them. When spring came and the temperature rose, the bottles in the cellar began to ferment again, resulting in the carbon dioxide causing the corks to fly off or the bottles to burst. This was seen as a problem, but after tasting some of these wines, Dom Pierre Pérignon realized that they had a pleasant taste and some potential.

Dom Pierre Pérignon therefore began to refine the techniques of vineyard management and grape pressing. He introduced stronger glass bottles from England and began sealing the bottles with corks that were tightly tied, resulting in clearer wines with a slightly pearly character. This laid the foundation for the champagne style we know today.

The legacy that Dom Pierre Pérignon left behind upon his death in 1715 has led to the creation of one of the world’s most famous champagne houses. He made champagne for 47 years until his death. The first vintage of Dom Pérignon produced was in 1921, but it did not hit the market until 1936. Until the 1947 vintage, Dom Pérignon was effectively a second edition, Œnothèque, of Moët & Chandon Vintage Champagne, which was converted from the normal champagne bottle at a later occasion to the iconic Dom Pérignon bottle.

Ranking according to  Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin
The first score indicates present and the second score indicates potential score.
99p
1.      1969 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	99[99]p
2.      1966 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	99[99]p
98p
3.      1964 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	98[98]p
4.      1971 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	98[98]p
5.      1976 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	98[98]p
97p
6.      1949 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	97[98]p
7.      1961 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	97[97]p
8.      1964 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	97[97]p
9.      1966 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	97[97]p
10.   1971 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	97[97]p
11.   1973 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	97[97]p
12.   1975 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	97[97]p
13.   1975 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	97[97]p
14.   1976 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	97[97]p
15.   1976 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	97[97]p
16.   1988 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	97[97]p
96p
17.   1996 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[97]p
18.   2008 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[97]p
19.   1962 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[96]p
20.   1962 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
21.   1969 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	96[96]p
22.   1969 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[96]p
23.   1969 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
24.   1971 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
25.   1982 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[96]p
26.   1982 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
27.   1985 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
28.   1988 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	96[96]p
29.   1990 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	96[96]p
30.   1990 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
31.   1992 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	96[96]p
32.   1993 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[96]p
33.   1995 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	96[96]p
34.   2000 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	96[96]p
35.   2002 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	96[96]p
36.   2003 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	96[96]p
95p
37.   1996 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	95[97]p
38.   2010 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[97]p
39.   1996 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[96]p
40.   1998 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	95[96]p
41.   2003 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	95[96]p
42.   2004 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[96]p
43.   2006 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	95[96]p
44.   1937 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
45.   1947 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
46.   1973 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
47.   1983 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
48.   1985 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	95[95]p
49.   1992 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	95[95]p
50.   1995 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	95[95]p
51.   1998 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	95[95]p
52.   1998 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
53.   1999 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	95[95]p
94p
54.   1990 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	94[96]p
55.   2004 Dom Pérignon ’P2’	94[96]p
56.   1943 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[94]p
57.   1975 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[94]p
58.   2010 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[95]p
59.   1921 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[94]p
60.   1995 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[94]p
61.   2002 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	94[94]p
62.   2006 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	94[94]p
93p
63.   1959 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	93[95]p
64.   2012 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[95]p
65.   2013 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[95]p
66.   2015 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[95]p
67.   1993 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	93[94]p
68.   1929 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[93]p
69.   1970 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	93[93]p
70.   1970 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	93[93]p
71.   1970 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[93]p
72.   1978 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	93[93]p
73.   1978 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[93]p
74.   2002 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[93]p
75.   2005 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	93[93]p
92p
76.   1998 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	92[93]p
77.   1993 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	92[94]p
78.   1959 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	92[92]p
79.   1980 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	92[92]p
80.   2000 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	92[92]p
91p
81.   2009 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	91[93]p
82.   1928 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	91[91]p
83.   1980 Dom Pérignon ’Œnothèque’	91[91]p
90p
84.   1993 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	90[91]p
85.   1952 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	90[90]p
86.   1955 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	90[90]p
87.   1992 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	90[90]p
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1983 Dom Pérignon ’P3’	00[00]p
1953 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	00[00]p
1934 Dom Pérignon ’Cuvée Dom Pérignon’	00[00]p

19. Råbjerg Mile

23. Château de Versailles

26. Abbey Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers

65. The Golden Gate Bridge

76. Franschhoek

78. The Cape of Good Hope