Beyond the luxe allure of its esteemed brand, Dom Pérignon’s true appeal can be found in its profound metamorphosis over decades of time. During a special visit to learn more about the Maison's red wine project, Sara Underdown discovered how the principles of excellence, instilled by Dom Pérignon himself, are being used to elevate, even higher, Champagne’s most legendary wines.
Different cultures describe the Holy Grail as some kind of vessel with miraculous healing powers, even providing eternal youth. Others attribute it to the cup of wine that Jesus used during the last supper that also served to collect his blood when crucified. Irrespective of its origins, the quest for the Holy Grail signifies the pursuit of something truly spiritual, even a union with God.
At the risk of allegorizing one of the greatest stories of all time, it’s possible to see some parallel with what many consider to be Champagne’s own Holy Grail, Dom Pérignon.
Dom Pérignon Senior Winemaker, Jean-Baptiste Terlay
“Perfection for the monks was holiness,” elaborated Terlay during our walk and talk through the Maison’s vineyards in Hautvillers.
The man, Dom Pérignon, was no ordinary 17th Century Benedictine Monk. Whilst legend credits him with creating the sparkle in the world’s most celebrated sparkling wine, his work resembled nothing of the sort. At the heart, a relentless pursuit of quality as cellar master for the Abbey of Hautvillers became a spiritual mission. The pursuit of excellence, it was thought, brought one closer to God. His efforts translated to several initiatives and elevated the reputation of the wines (which were without effervescence at the time) that they became legendary, particularly in Paris and London. Dom Pérignon’s own status gained considerable esteem and so his legend was born.
When I visited Dom Pérignon with chef de caves, Vincent Chaperon, and his senior winemaker, Jean-Baptiste Terlay, I wasn’t quite prepared for this signification let alone how it was influencing the Maison’s modern-day story.
Dom Pérignon's renewed approach to viticulture
The Maison has a renewed vision toward excellence, particularly around soil management. With more than 900 hectares under vine, around 200 hectares go into most yearly blends.“Perfection for the monks was holiness,” elaborated Terlay during our walk and talk through the Maison’s vineyards in Hautvillers. “Dom Pérignon wrote the principles of excellence that we follow today. Champagne is spiritual, but it had been forgotten.”
Reflecting on its foundations, the Maison has a renewed vision toward excellence, particularly around soil management. With more than 900 hectares under vine, notionally available to Dom Pérignon and located right across the appellation, managing one’s soils is not an easy thing to do. In reality, much of this is shared with sister brands belonging to LVMH, leaving around 200 hectares to go into most yearly blends which can stretch to 400 hectares, depending on the year.
On a cold and windy mid-April day I walked along the apex of the Hautvillers hill, the spiritual birthplace of Dom Pérignon, with Terlay. I watched as a handful of workers hand-tilled the challenging steep slope under a new regime of sub-diving plots into smaller plots that one could argue brings a parcellaire focus that is more grower than negociant.
It’s a remarkable undertaking by one of the largest producers of prestige champagnes that Terlay says allows a more precise approach to pruning, particularly for the production of red wine, to enhance the quality of rosé blends.
In selected parcels, the slope is organised vertically to bring greater ripeness and definition to the fruit which goes into making red wine. As we moved to the neighbouring village of Cumières, brown tertiary soils, located at the top of the slope, are followed by redzine over chalk mid-slope and then aluminum composite soil at the base which extends up to 4m deep. The distinction allows Chaperon and Terlay more discretion over quality and the vinification process.
Dom Pérignon, Chef de Caves, Vincent Chaperon
Between improvements to cultivation and vinification, the Maison has pushed the overall expression of red wine resulting in a reduced percentage represented in each blend.
“We want to plan for the next 100 years,” says Terlay about the red wine project, citing climate change, and emphasising that complexity is needed and massale selection is preferred, using old vine material from the Moët et Chandon domaine.
Dom Pérignon’s Rosé has, historically and unusually, included a high percentage of red wine (up to 30 percent) in its blends. But since 2000, the Maison has worked to reduce the percentage in each blend (now around 12 percent), also for greater balance between power and seduction.
A more Burgundian approach has ensued, pushing ripeness to obtain a fuller style albeit with the crystalline and citrussy character important for House style.
For the most part, fruit for red wine is sourced from Bouzy, Hautvillers, Cumières and Aÿ, from a total of 30 hectares, but sometimes Verzenay in warmer years to bring freshness. Chaperon aims for more than 11-12 degrees potential alcohol, and aromatics that are more intense than pinot noir harvested for the blanc version.
When I returned for harvest 2024, I re-visited Hautvillers and Aÿ with Terlay. In an unusually wet and cool year, where fruit was vacillating over whether or not to ripen, Hautvillers was one of the last to be harvested. Just 4,000kg of fruit per hectare, rather than the allowed 10,000kg, was possible. Over in Aÿ, where the micro-climate is warmer, the bunch weight was particularly small with delayed ripening. Harvest was pushed out much later than is usual for the Domaine.
In line with their new mantra, Terlay said that “lower yield and lower bunch weight has been in harmony with the soil and what it’s providing to the plants this year…so we need to wait. A later harvest respects this.”
A new winery in 2006 was another leap forward in quality improvements, dedicated to red wine. The facility allows vinification between large and small stainless steel vats where the smaller kind separates plots into three areas (mirroring the top, middle and end of slope).
Vinification of the red wine is typically a maceration of 10-15 days with not a lot of pumping over, more a punch down, and protection occurs with CO² rather than adding sulfites. The goal is to push the impression of maturity even further and to extract tannins.
Between improvements to cultivation and vinification, the Maison has pushed the overall expression of red wine resulting in a reduced percentage represented in each blend. They’re pleased with the results so far, but it’s just the beginning of other plans to raise the bar even higher, including a special project just around dosage and further experiments around yeast as an enabler of endless youth.
“The way you prepare yeast has an impact on the life of the wine. Yeast becomes the wine,” said Chaperon about Dom Pérignon’s P2 and P3 (extended aging) concept during our tasting later that day. For this he prepares two strains of yeast for the first fermentation and then another two for the pris de mousse. By the time the wine reaches the P3 level, there are no more deposits to keep the wine developing. Still, there are questions around how far they can push these ages of maturity.
“Dom Pérignon is like a marathon runner. Time is the circle of life which allows us to focus on doing vintage only,” he says about the future.
Beyond the luxe allure of its esteemed brand, Dom Pérignon delivers a compelling example of wine so excellent that its metamorphosis over time resembles more of a youth elixir than an old champagne. A heavily skewed approach to reductive winemaking enables three ‘ages’ of maturity to be released, vintage dependant, ranging from P1 at 7 – 10 years, P2 at 12 – 20 years and P3 at up to 40 years. After P1, bottles are held on sur pointe or sur latte. Sur pointe protects against oxidation whereas laying down creates more savoury notes.
This length of time is almost unheard of elsewhere in Champagne. What’s more, these extensively aged champagnes are still pulsating with energy on release. The legend of Dom Pérignon lives on in these astonishing wines, even the Champenois talk about them with a spiritual reverence. I guess this is Champagne’s Holy Grail.
Tasting Dom Pérignon
Dom Pérignon 2015 – On the back of the largest drought in 20 years, resulting in super concentrated fruit, the challenge was the selection. The vintage was rich and mature with some vegetal character, which can be good (according to Chaperon) to add complexity, but not too much. 2015 delivers a direct line – quite horizontal – with authority and intensity. This year, pinot outperformed chardonnay resulting in a fruity wine with loads of freshness, vibrancy and just a hint of phenolic bitterness. 97/100
Dom Pérignon 2013 – Open but also with some good tension. A ‘new classic’ according to Vincent Chaperon carrying brightness, freshness and vibrancy. Budding was delayed and there was a mix of concentration, winter was cold but summer was hot, resulting in an October harvest that concentrated the berries to produce elegant wines. 99/100
Dom Pérignon 2012 – A concentrated wine from a complicated year with a warm end, and a yield that suffered a 30% loss. Hugely powerful with great finesse, phenolic staying power and racy acidity. A baked lemon and spicy finish. 98/100
Dom Pérignon 2010 – From a year that suffered botrytis, the Maison realised it had a problem. Notwithstanding this, rigorous sorting has enabled a great wine to be produced. 2010 delivers tropical notes with fresh pineapple and some noble rot that reminds Chaperon of 1975. There’s a lovely creaminess to the texture which makes this wine particularly approachable in youth. 95/100
Dom Pérignon 2006 P2 – Chaperon began by talking about the 2003 harvest and how it was really the beginning of everything that the Maison is now doing to plan for the future. By this he refers to the change in climate, and increasingly warmer years. 2006 also produced warm conditions. In the P1, after 10 years of maturation, Chaperon would have liked to see more tension. In P2, the time from longer lees aging provides more elegance and richness and is very different to the original release. Chaperon says, it begs the question – what really is Dom Pérignon? Is it P2 with the elegance and stretch on the palate? 98/100
Dom Pérignon 2004 P2 – A crystalline wine with increased texture when compared to its original disgorgement. The fruit is expressive, laced with notes of bergamot and smoke. Lovely length carried by a chalky backbone. 97/100
Dom Pérignon 2004 – The original release displays great intensity and electrifying tension confirming it will surge into another life with confidence. Quite dry and creamy in texture with lots of pithy citrussy character and savoury spice. 97/100
Dom Pérignon 2009 Rosé - From a fruity year where aromatic maturity was high. Sugar and acidity was present, but also phenolics. The wine appears ready to drink with blood orange aromatics. On the palate, it’s round and juicy with peachy flavours ending in a pithy finish. 12% red wine was added to the blend to produce a silky and seductive rosé. 96/100
Dom Pérignon 2008 Rosé - Delivers a tight nose, as you might expect from this vintage, but with some orange, stone fruits and cardamom spice starting to come through. The palate is loaded with tension and drives some powerful red fruits including bright cherry notes care of 12% red wine inclusion. This will become a very exciting wine in good time. 98/100
Dom Pérignon 2002 Rosé P2 – Delivers sapidity, salinity and length. A complex wine with a feeling of completeness. 98/100
Dom Pérignon 1996 Rosé – From a challenging, contrasting but promising year, where champagnes were charged with ultra-high acidity. Whilst some didn’t quite live up to the expectations for the year, others, like Dom Pérignon 1996 Rosé, have. This is a wonderful champagne demonstrating the power of time in bringing harmony and balance to champagne wines. Here the pinot noir and chardonnay are hand in glove. There’s pretty and even delicate raspberry and pastry notes which stands in contrast to the palate which has an enthralling tension and is deeply fruity and concentrated, underscored by a strong chalky backbone. Finishes dry and long. 98/100
Words by Sara Underdown
Photography supplied by Sara Underdown and Dom Pérignon
