1996 Dom Pérignon Œnothèque

Wine Details
Place of Origin

France

Epernay

Champagne

Color

Sparkling White

Grape/Blend

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir (1996 vintage)

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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Drinking Window

2016 - 2031

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This wine was part of a retrospective tasting 1996 Champagne – For The Ages.

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Drinking Window

2014 - 2036

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I tasted wide range of wines this year with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy. While some of the older Champagnes I tasted are sublime, the truth is they will be nearly impossible to come by and priced in the stratosphere. Those wines should be great, and they are often much more than that. Instead, though, it is the 2005 that impressed me most given how difficult that vintage was in Champagne. Moët made no vintage wines at all under their label that year, just a bit of Dom Pérignon and Dom Pérignon Rosé. From what I have tasted so far, the 2005s here will be among the wines of the vintage. Best of all, they will provide great short and medium-term drinking while the 2002s and 2004s are left in the cellar. Readers should note that with the 1998 vintage, the Oenothèque series has been re-branded as P2 and P3 which refer to the second and third plenitudes, or windows of maturity, for those wines. If anything, though, the P2 wines are being released too early. The 1996 is only now beginning to deliver real pleasure. It will be interesting to see how long the soon-to-be-released 1998 takes to reach the same place. In my view, Dom Pérignon remains one of the best relative values in high-end, collectible wine. My suggestion is to buy the wines immediately upon release (to mitigate issues that might arise with provenance) and forget about them for at least a decade.

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This wine was tasted over dinner at Ristorante Morini, NY in May, 2014.

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2013 - 2026

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Four new releases of the flagship Dom Pérignon are the highlights among these Champagnes from Moët & Chandon. There is a timeless elegance about Dom Pérignon that I find comforting and reassuring, like a favorite restaurant or food. For that reason, nothing could have prepared me for the Champagnes I tasted recently with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy. While the 2002 Dom Pérignon and 1996 Dom Pérignon Œenothèque are both for the most part representative of what readers have come to expect from this house, the 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé and 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé Œenothèque are wines that push the envelope and push it hard. I can't think of another winemaker at a Grande Marque who is willing to take these kinds of risks by turning well-established conventions on their head. Much of what I tasted reminded me of the experimental, searching spirit that defines so many of the smaller-production, artisan Champagnes being made today. As the saying goes ‘no guts no glory' and there is plenty of both here. These wines are nothing short of magnificent.

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Over the last few months I have had the chance to revisit a number of Champagnes from the celebrated 1996 vintage. My first retrospective on the 1996s, published last year, found many of the wines in great shape. Today, only a year later, a number of bottles are finally beginning to show hints of their ultimate potential. Many of these wines have been on the market for some time but only now, fourteen years after the harvest, is it possible to taste a complete range of the tête-de-cuvées from all of the major houses.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

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

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Drinking Window

2013 - 2026

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

- By Author Name on Month Date, Year

I was blown away by these four new releases from Moët et Chandon. I confess I have long admired the flagship Dom Pérignon. There is a timeless elegance about Dom Pérignon that I find comforting and reassuring, like a favorite restaurant or food. For that reason, nothing could have prepared me for the Champagnes I tasted recently with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy. While the 2002 Dom Pérignon and 1996 Dom Pérignon Œenothèque are both for the most part representative of what readers have come to expect from this house, the 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé and 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé Œenothèque are wines that push the envelope and push it hard. I can't think of another winemaker at a Grande Marque who is willing to take these kinds of risks by turning well-established conventions on their head. Much of what I tasted reminded me of the experimental, searching spirit that defines so many of the smaller-production, artisan Champagnes being made today. As the saying goes ‘no guts no glory' and there is plenty of both here. These wines are nothing short of magnificent.