1969 Dom Pérignon Œnothèque

One of the most fascinating aspects of Champagne is its ability to transform over time. This remarkable tasting provided a truly once in a lifetime opportunity to compare the three principal releases of Dom Pérignon across a number of iconic vintages of the 1960s and 1970s.

I have had many unforgettable tastings during my annual visits to Dom Pérignon, but I don’t think I have ever had an opportunity to taste so many of the house’s Champagnes in a single sitting. This retrospective was organized and hosted by a collector from the Midwest for the simple pleasure of sharing the wines with a group of close friends. We tasted the Champagnes over dinner at Michael White’s Marea. Wine Director Francesco Grosso did a fabulous job looking after the wines. Every aspect of service was spot on.

This wine was tasted during collector Bruce Fingeret's birthday party, July 2010

This wine was tasted over a dinner at Del Posto that was so amazing I hardly know where to start. The collection of wines we tasted was mind-boggling. Our initial theme was a complete vertical of Bruno Giacosa’s mythical Barolo Collina Rionda, which we managed to pull off, save the 1968. All the reason to make another attempt in a few years’ time. Before we knew it, a desire to taste a few older Champagnes turned into a full-fledged second theme of 1970s Dom Pérignons. The food and service were both superb and fully befitting of Del Posto’s recent 4-star rating by The New York Times. In particular, I adored the wood-grilled lobster (always outstanding here) and the stinco di vitello. On this night, the service was especially stellar. As readers can see by the number of wines we opened, ours was not an easy table to take care of, but Del Posto anticipated our every need (including a sprained ankle I sustained earlier in the day) with the highest level of professionalism.

When I was a child my father gave his best customers bottles of Dom Pérignon as a holiday gift. From an early age, to me Dom Pérignon was virtually synonymous with fine Champagne. I imagine many people feel the same way, as Moët et Chandon has done a remarkable job in building Dom Pérignon's prestige around the globe. While some of the large production Champagnes often give emphasis to style over substance, there can be no denying that at its best Dom Pérignon is more than just a brand. There is something quite magical about Dom Pérignon, especially in strong vintages. This recent tasting with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy and Winemaker Vincent Chaperone provided a great opportunity to check in on handful of new and past releases. It was quite fitting that on this cold day we tasted in the abbey at Hautvillers, where the Benedictine monk and cellarmaster, Dom Pérignon, advanced a number of viticultural and oenological techniques that were incredibly forward-thinking for his era, some 300 years ago. One of the things that is most remarkable about Richard Geoffroy is his artistic, introspective personality. While so many winemakers in Champagne consistently rave about how great their wines are, Geoffroy is not afraid to talk about mistakes and lessons learned along the way, something that makes him rather rare among his colleagues. Geoffroy describes Dom Pérignon as a wine of paradoxes. “Dom Pérignon is perceived as quite traditional and classic in the minds of consumers,” says Geoffroy “but the reality is quite different. As opposed to the traditional, oxidative style some houses pursue, Dom Pérignon is made in a more modern, reductive style aimed at maintaining acidity and freshness.” Although Geoffroy uses only natural yeasts for Dom Pérignon, he says the real secret is in the blending of vineyards and grape varieties, much of which remains top-secret, as do production numbers. Geoffroy describes his winemaking as striving to bring out what he calls “grey” tones that remain an element of freshness rather than the more oxidized, honeyed aromas and flavors, which he classifies as “brown.” He talks about the Pinot elements requiring time to emerge, while the Chardonnay components are rather evident from the outset. Over the years, Geoffroy has also moved to lower dosage levels for his wines. For example, the 2000 Dom Pérignon saw just 6 grams of dosage, which is decidedly towards the lower end of the spectrum for the large production Champagnes.