Who makes it?
When Father Pierre Perignon took over as cellar master at the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers in 1668, his avowed goal was "to make the best wine in the world". For a young monk just 30 years old, it took a visionary spirit and exceptional audacity to pursue such lofty ambitions. An exact contemporary of Louis XIV, Dom Perignon transformed the history of wine, just as the Sun King revolutionized the very notion of "art de vivre". Wine was the medium for their meeting, as the excellence of "Father Perignon's wine" earned it a place at the king's table.
More than three centuries later, the House of Dom Perignon perpetuates the visionary approach of its founder, widely considered the spiritual father of Champagne. Released only as a vintage, Dom Perignon is cellar aged for at least seven years prior to release. This time is critical for harmonising the flavours and ensuring that the wine’s balance remains elegant, sensual and ethereal. Dom Perignon can also be enjoyed many years later with rare OEnotheque vintages, released by the Chef de Cave at times when the intensity and complexity of the wine has reached optimum levels. Each new vintage is a unique creative act, reinventing the extraordinary style of a wine that only the Chef de Cave may declare a "vintage year".
"The grapes are never the same from one year to the next. If a harvest does not meet Dom Perignon's unyielding standards, there will be no vintage champagne that year. This isn't a value judgment - it's an aesthetic vision" says Dom Perignon Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy.
The unique personality of Dom Perignon is born of this creative commitment. It is this tension between the distinctive qualities of a year and the timeless spirit that defines Dom Perignon, an unparalleled sensation that imparts weightlessness, airy richness and suppleness from first impression to the long-lasting finish.
Dom Perignon: the best wine in the world.
How is it made?
The year was marked by spring frosts in April, followed by very hot weather at the end of May and June. The month of August was not very sunny, with rain throughout the month, followed by warmth and good weather at the end of August for the harvest. With damp conditions the Pinot Noir & Meunier grapes were at huge risk and only small batches of Pinot Noir were picked and free from rot. Although 2017 won’t be widely declared, some individual successes will exist, several iconic prestige cuvée Blanc de Blancs were made, including Taittinger Comtes de Champagne and Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. In addition Dom Perignon 2017 exists, with a significantly higher percentage of chardonnay in the blend as there was limited Pinot Noir.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 18 Grand Cru and Hautvillers (Premier Cru)
Grape Varieties: 62% Chardonnay | 38% Pinot Noir
Lees Ageing: 7 years
Disgorged: March 2024
Dosage: 5 g/l
Alcohol: 12.5%
Drink: Now to 10 + Years
What does it taste like?
The 2017 Dom Perignon is the deeper and more structurally endowed wine, unfurling from the glass with a complex bouquet of orange peel, dried apricot and burnt buttered toast, mingling with nuances of dried flowers, toasted hazelnut and cacao bean, all strongly singed with the house’s signature smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied and concentrated, with a rich core of fruit. Its darker, open-knit profile is animated by a pillowy mousse, vibrant acidity and attractively bitter, structuring phenolics that assert themselves on a long, resonant finish.
