Dom Perignon P2 1998
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Suckling
James -
Spirits
Wine & -
Spectator
Wine
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine has achieved an intense, full and radiant bouquet, with notes of honeysuckle, orange colored fruits, toasted almonds and hints of iodine sensations. The creamy chewiness characterizing the vintage is channeled in a direction that is edgy yet embracing, with a wave of aromatic persistence. Its finish – smoky, biting and full of energy – offers balance and harmony.
Pairing caviar with Dom Pérignon is evident. The caviar underscores the precision, the depth, and the maturity of P2 1998's additional years of elaboration in the Dom Pérignon cellar. A substance that is both dark and luminous, black, it shines and becomes translucent. The caviar transfigures the energy of Dom Pérignon P2 1998.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A P2 release indicating it has been matured to the 2nd Plenitude, the middle stage of Dom Perignon's three-phase life as defined by Richard Geoffroy. This is a wine with some real tension between complexity and freshness that makes for incredibly engaging drinking. The nose offers up a little white peppery edge from the pinot; oyster shell saline freshness, red florals, sweet smelling woody spices and brioche, spiced biscuits and subtle roasted coffee notes - impressively complex. The phenolics register on the palate as a discreetly mineral, saline character, there's sorbet-like texture through the middle before finishing with comet-like line and length.
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Wine & Spirits
From a late harvest saved by fine fall weather, this 1998 is part of a new program at Dom Pérignon, released after extended aging on the lees, disgorged when Richard Geoffroy considers the wine to be reaching its second peak of development—at least 12 years on the lees, or, in the case of this wine, 13. This has aged into a dynamic and sexy wine, layering floral intensity, silken textures and bass notes of fresh, nutty, loquat-like flavors into a finish with tremendous drive. It’s open and packed with energy.
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Wine Spectator
This vibrant Champagne is tightly knit up front, with a dense core of smoky minerality and ripe dried apricot and white cherry flavors. Expands on the satiny palate, revealing accents of pastry cream, toast, singed orange peel and toasted coconut that echo on the persistent finish. Drink now through 2028.
Dom Pérignon: an absolute commitment to Vintage
Dom Pérignon's commitment to vintage is absolute. Each Dom Pérignon is a true act of creation, made from only the best grapes. The champagne's intensity is based in precision, so inviting, so mysterious. Each Vintage has three Plénitudes, and embodies the total faith in the creation that is constantly renewed by Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon. Coupled with a bold sense of playfulness, Dom Pérignon inspires the greatest creators in the world.Made only from the best grapes grown in one single year, each Dom Perignon's Vintage represents a harmonic balance between the nature of the year and the signature of Dom Pérignon. After no fewer than 8 years of elaboration, each vintage emerges complete, seamless and tactile. Dom Pérignon Champagne is made through an assemblage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, created by using only the best grapes harvested from the 17 Grands Crus in Champagne and the Premier Cru of Hautvillers.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’