Dom Pérignon is a widely recognized name in the world of wine and champagne. How does it taste?
Dom Pérignon is exclusively available in vintage form, and the taste and aroma can change with every iteration. In 2010, a vintage was released with notes of pineapple, mango, and peach, a mixed and fruity taste that has been described as ‘powerful’ rather than just ‘sweet’.
Read on to learn more about Dom Pérignon and how it has tasted throughout history.
Centuries In The Making
The history of champagne as we know it today stretches back some four hundred years. Although wine has been consumed for thousands of years, champagne is a relatively young invention.
There have been traces of wine consumption studied as far back as 5000BC, around seven thousand years ago. It’s thought that wine originated – or at least, was first created – in Armenia.
That’s where the oldest examples have been found, namely a ‘wine press’ and jars used for fermentation. These implements were uncovered in 2011, in a cave – rudimentary, but still evidence of wine having existed that far back.
Like many inventions throughout history, it’s believed that wine was discovered by accident. It’s assumed that spoiled grapes that had essentially fermented were consumed, and the ancient people eating them likely enjoyed the effects.
If we fast forward a few thousand years, we arrive in the heart of the winemaking industry, in Champagne, France. We’re introduced to Dom Pierre Pérignon, a vintner extraordinaire, working at a Benedictine abbey in Hautvillers.
His name would one day become synonymous with fine champagne, owing primarily to the massive impact he had on the beverage. It’s alleged that he essentially invented champagne while working for decades to perfect wine in many forms.
He’d come to introduce the blending of multiple grapes to make optimum wine and work to promote natural-only production, with no additives. There are many misconceptions surround Pérignon however, and it’s a widely debated subject as to whether or not he did actually invent champagne.
Regardless, the first vintage of Moet et Chandon’s Dom Pérignon was released to the public way back in 1936. The name stuck, the legacy was strengthened, and it remains one of the finest champagnes on Earth today.
How Does It Taste?
Although a little sugar is added to champagne, it isn’t all that much and doesn’t promote an overpowering sweetness. As a general rule, Dom Pérignon has quite a dry and solid taste and is said to be ‘powerful’ above all.
Reportedly, the mix of grapes that go into the production of Dom Pérignon produces a wide and varied string of flavors. There can be notes of pineapple, mango, and peach, as well as more unique flavors of vanilla and even brioche, or bread.
There has been a widespread appreciation of Dom Pérignon for decades, something that has only served to further the value of the beverage. The top-tier critics of the wine industry are massive advocates for Dom Pérignon.
One reviewer explained the taste of the champagne was ‘unquestionably excellent’. Another went as fast as to describe it as, “a kind of saline dimension, a kind of savory sensation.”
The Cost Of Luxury
Today, Dom Pérignon can cost as much as four hundred dollars a bottle, depending on the vintage and availability. However, that’s by no means the top end of the scale where the luxury champagne is concerned.
For example, a special edition Dom Pérignon Rosé was released in 1996 with only thirty-five having been bottled. It was a ‘Methuselah’, which is a six-liter bottle, but this one came with gold plating.
Today, one of those bottles of Dom Pérignon would cost you around fifty thousand dollars. It’s closely followed by the 1959 Dom Pérignon Rosé, which was the first-ever vintage released.
In 2008, two bottles of this sought-after beverage sold at auction for just over forty-two thousand dollars each.
There’s a considerable portion of the value assigned to the fact that Dom Pérignon isn’t the most common champagne you can get. It’s one of the only champagnes to be released in vintages, and it can go years – even a decade – without a new one being produced.
Ultimately, the vintners at Moet et Chandon would rather release nothing than risk releasing a bad batch just to keep to a production schedule. Therefore, if you do happen to purchase a bottle of Dom Pérignon any time soon, you can rest assured it’s likely the best it can be.