Dom Pérignon Champagne Vintage 2008

Winemaking Notes

Dom Pérignon Champagne is Vintage Only, an assemblage of the finest grapes of a single year in Champagne. It is an act of creation in the most inspired and most audacious sense of the term. With, as a final reward, the birth of a vintage. After at least eight years of elaboration in the cellars, the wine embodies the perfect balance of Dom Pérignon, the Plénitude of harmony. The opening bouquet is complex and luminous, a mingling of white flowers, citrus and stone fruit. The overall effect is enhanced by the freshness of aniseed and crushed mint. The final aromas offered by the wine are starting to show spicy, woody and roasted notes. After a long period of reluctance, the wine is finally opening up. There is complete balance between the nose and the palate. Its slender, minimalist, pure, toned, athletic character is now also expressed with warmth. The fruit is pronounced and clear. The vintage's characteristic acidity is remarkably well integrated. Its persistence is mainly aromatic, grey, smoky and highly promising. The wine enjoys duality: warmth and freshness, meat and iodine pairings, cooked and raw. Spices enhance and accentuate 2008's effervescence and densify the wine. Dom Pérignon likes playful experiences: culinary art, textures, and matters.

Vintage Conditions

2008 was dominated by grey, overcast skies, an exception in a decade characterised by bold, generous sunshine. Just when the harvest was getting underway, the weather conditions were finally perfect: blue skies and prolonged north-northeasterly winds. The grapes were riper than anyone dared hope, and had truly outstanding balance. The vines were in perfect health. To the bracing acidity, concision and aromatic purity expected of the 2008 vintage, Dom Pérignon adds depth, density and complexity. The light is warmer and less harsh. The challenging growing season, dominated by grey, overcast skies, gave way to perfect harvest conditions that resulted in grapes with truly outstanding balance and vines in perfect health. This exceptional vintage showcases the bracing acidity, concision and aromatic purity characteristic of 2008, enhanced by the depth, density and complexity that define Dom Pérignon. The wine's slender, minimalist, pure, toned, athletic character is expressed with warmth, whilst the fruit is pronounced and clear. The vintage's characteristic acidity is remarkably well integrated, with persistence that is mainly aromatic, grey, smoky and highly promising. After at least eight years of elaboration in the cellars, the 2008 vintage embodies the perfect balance of Dom Pérignon, the Plénitude of harmony, showcasing an assemblage of the finest grapes of a single year in Champagne in the most inspired and most audacious sense of the term.