It’s with great joy and anticipation that I unbox a new vintage of the classic legend Dom Pérignon. Now it’s time for the 2012 to take place on the Champagne scene. Will it match up with its historical siblings ? Only time will tell !
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!
THE VINTAGE 2012
★★★★
A really tricky growing season with many difficulties still had a happy ending. After frost problems, excess rain and cold, the ripening period was the driest since 1974. The harvest was small, but very fine and gave balanced, elegant and good-looking wines that are very appealing from the start. Despite that, I believe in a pretty long life. Most, however, should be drunk between 10-20 years old when the real power is lacking. The main specimens released so far are Cristal, Cristal Rosé, Larmandier-Bernier Les Chemins d’Avize, Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Rosé and Dom Pérignon. It is noteworthy that Krug chose to give up vintage wines this year and instead invest in a very nice Krug Grande Cuvée with 2012 as a base.
2012 Dom Pérignon ‘ Cuvée Dom Pérignon’
51pn 49ch
