Dom Pérignon Limited Edition Legacy Champagne 2008
There is Champagne and then there is Champagne Dom Pérignon.
Dom Pérignon only makes vintage Champagne. Each and every vintage is singular, marrying the characteristics of the vintage with the style of the house. This wine, the Dom Pérignon Plénitude 1, is the first expression of three Plénitudes, milestones of development of the wine under lees. The first Plénitude, after around nine years of ageing, is bottled and shows promise, completeness and harmony. We know it by name and by sight as the classic Dom Pérignon.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 revisits the archetype of vintage champagne to a degree that could be termed a “paradoxical new classic”, drawing on the best of the two winemakers’ approaches with complementary mutual understanding, blending Richard’s sophisticated and comprehensive knowledge with Vincent’s audacious intuition.
Dom Pérignon announced the release of this celebratory wine on the 19th of June 2018. They also announced the retirement of Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy, a veteran of some 15 vintages, who has shaped the modern vision Dom Pérignon. This limited Legacy Edition bottle celebrates Richard’s career in appropriate style – the 2008 is a widely acclaimed modern classic vintage for the marque. The label bears not only the name of Richard Geoffroy but also his successor, Dom Pérignon's new Chef de Cave, Vincent Chaperon.
"Departing chef de caves Richard Geoffroy says that 2008 is his best DP vintage since 1990. The first half of the growing season was dull and sunless, but good weather returned in mid-September and led to one of the longest harvests, running into October. The summer provided ideal conditions for a classic, cool, maritime vintage of exceptional, subtle aromas with minerality and freshness. This has a vibrant but controlled acidity and is above all a memorable symbiosis of mature fruit and salinity derived from top terroirs. The poised mouthfeel makes this a perfect gastronomic wine, strong enough for spicy Asian cuisine from the Pacific rim, but still compatible with classics such as roast turbot and lobster."
96 points, Michael Edwards, Decanter, June 2018.
The 2008 Dom Pérignon is fabulous, but quite remarkably, it was even more open when I tasted it a year ago. Bright, focused and crystalline in its precision, the 2008 is going to need a number of years before it is at its best. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper give the 2008 its chiseled, bright profile. Several recent bottles have all been magnificent. What I admire most about the 2008 is the way it shows all the focus, translucence and energy that is such a signature of the year, and yet it is also remarkably deep and vertical. In other words, the 2008 is a Champagne that plays in three dimensions.
98+ points, Vinous, July 2018
The 2008 Dom Pérignon is simply extraordinary. A wine of myriad dimensions, the 2008 explodes in all directions from the very first taste. Deep, powerful and yet wonderfully translucent, the 2008 boasts remarkable purity throughout. Crushed rocks, citrus, chalk and fresh spring water are some of the signatures. The 2008 is a stunning Champagne by any measure... it is already shaping up to be epic... utterly magnificent, riveting Champagne.
98+ points, Antonio Galloni, July 2017.
The best Dom since 2002. A vintage with very restrained, powerful style that has been released non-sequentially after the 2009. This has a lighter stamp of highly curated, autolytic, toasty aromas than many recent releases. Instead, this delivers super fresh and intense aromas of lemons, grapefruit and blood-orange peel. Incredible freshness here. The palate has a very smoothly delivered, berry-pastry thread with light, sweet spices, stone fruit and fine citrus fruit. This really delivers. Drink now or hold.
98 points, jamessuckling.com
Brisk, tiny mousse. Notably rich nose -- very Dom P! There's a hint of something marine on the nose (Michael Broadbent's oyster shells?) and then extremely tight and lacy -- it somehow reminded me of a sponge because of springy texture. Masses of energy here, as well as the usual flirtatiousness. It will continue to open out, I'm sure. I tasted it very cool and then went back to it at almost room temperature a couple of hours later and it stood up extremely well. The official Geoffroy description of this vintage is 'athletic' and 'vertical'. 'All 2008s are bright in terms of fruit; we want ours to shine white light. We have deliberately warmed it up a bit, working on the muscle to better integrate the acidity.'
18.5/20 points, jancisrobinson.com, June 2018
"The best Dom since 2002. A vintage with very restrained, powerful style that has been released non-sequentially after the 2009. This has a lighter stamp of highly curated, autolytic, toasty aromas than many recent releases. Instead, this delivers super fresh and intense aromas of lemons, grapefruit and blood-orange peel. Incredible freshness here. The palate has a very smoothly delivered, berry-pastry thread with light, sweet spices, stone fruit and fine citrus fruit. This really delivers. Drink now or hold." 98 Points, James Suckling
"The 2008 Dom Pérignon is simply extraordinary. A wine of myriad dimensions, the 2008 explodes in all directions from the very first taste. Deep, powerful and yet wonderfully translucent, the 2008 boasts remarkable purity throughout. Crushed rocks, citrus, chalk and fresh spring water are some of the signatures. The 2008 is a stunning Champagne by any measure. The 2008 won’t be released until at least 2019, but it is already shaping up to be epic. It’s not too early to start setting aside the cash for this utterly magnificent, riveting Champagne." 98+ Points, Antonio Galloni (July 2017)
"The 2008 Dom Pérignon is fabulous, but quite remarkably, it was even more open when I tasted it a year ago. Bright, focused and crystalline in its precision, the 2008 is going to need a number of years before it is at its best. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper give the 2008 its chiseled, bright profile. Several recent bottles have all been magnificent. What I admire most about the 2008 is the way it shows all the focus, translucence and energy that is such a signature of the year, and yet it is also remarkably deep and vertical. In other words, the 2008 is a Champagne that plays in three dimensions." 98+ points, Antonio Galloni (July 2018)
"Brisk, tiny mousse. Notably rich nose - very Dom P! There's a hint of something marine on the nose (Michael Broadbent's oyster shells?) and then extremely tight and lacy - it somehow reminded me of a sponge because of springy texture. Masses of energy here, as well as the usual flirtatiousness. It will continue to open out, I'm sure. I tasted it very cool and then went back to it at almost room temperature a couple of hours later and it stood up extremely well. The official Geoffroy description of this vintage is 'athletic' and 'vertical'. 'All 2008s are bright in terms of fruit; we want ours to shine white light. We have deliberately warmed it up a bit, working on the muscle to better integrate the acidity." 18.5 points, Jancis Robinson (June 2018)
"Departing chef de caves Richard Geoffroy says that 2008 is his best DP vintage since 1990. The first half of the growing season was dull and sunless, but good weather returned in mid-September and led to one of the longest harvests, running into October. The summer provided ideal conditions for a classic, cool, maritime vintage of exceptional, subtle aromas with minerality and freshness. This has a vibrant but controlled acidity, and is above all a memorable symbiosis of mature fruit and salinity derived from top terroirs. The poised mouthfeel makes this a perfect gastronomic wine, strong enough for spicy Asian cuisine from the Pacific rim, but still compatible with classics such as roast turbot and lobster." 96 Points, Decanter (Michael Edwards - June 2018)
Located 150 km east of Paris, Champagne is the French wine region renowned for producing the finest, most rich and complex sparkling wines in the world. The elegance, longevity and racy acidity of these wines are attributed to the influence of the chalky soils of the region and the cool, marginal continental climate. The region spans an area of 35,000 ha and has 4 main growing areas, each favouring one of the three noble Champagne varieties; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Champagne has a vineyard quality hierarchy based on the soils, aspect and overall quality of the grapes. Like Burgundy, these quality designations are allocated to the vineyards of the village. Of the 319 villages of Champagne, 17 have Grand Cru status and 44 villages are designated Premier Cru. All Champagne is produced by Traditional Method. The vast majority of Champagne is a blend of the three varieties and may also be a blend of several vintages producing the popular Non Vintage (NV) house styles. Top quality blends from exceptional years are sold as Vintage (Millésime) Champagne.
