Yesterday saw a flurry of activity as the delicious Dom Pérignon 2002 hit the market. Moet & Chandon had been planning to release the new vintage in September, however they ran out of DP 2000 about three weeks earlier than planned.
2002 was an exceptional vintage in Champagne producing wines of great flamboyance, supported by a natural freshness and structure, it is a style of vintage which possibly suits Dom Pérignon more than any other prestige cuvée in Champagne. Dom Pérignon is famed for producing wines with a wonderful fruit content allowing the wine to be enjoyed young whilst always having great intensity of flavour guaranteeing its ability to age into a wine of layered complexity and this will absolutely be the case for the stunning 2002.
The growing conditions in 2002 were perfect for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay which make up the blend of this prestigious cuvee and provide the wine with its fine balance and Dom Pérignon’s Chef du Cave Richard Geoffrey sums it up superbly “A highly concentrated vintage, Dom Pérignon 2002 expresses all the power of grapes picked at the peak of their maturity, while going far beyond the character of the year, enhancing its natural richness and – by making it vibrate in undulating waves – lending it extra precision and depth. Dom Pérignon 2002 is a magnetic, still-elusive wine that fully reveals the dual nature of Dom Pérignon,“
The wine is now available as a special pre-release, in advance of shipment later in the year. The launch price of £410 per 6 bottles IB is the same as the 2000 vintage. We think this is an exceptional buy, particularly when one considers the worldwide demand for such an outstanding vintage.
To order a case or two call us on 020 7793 7900 or email sales@goedhuis.com
“The 2002 Dom Perignon is at first intensely floral, with perfumed jasmine that dominates the bouquet. With time in the glass the wine gains richness as the flavors turn decidedly riper and almost tropical. Ripe apricots, passion fruit and peaches emerge from this flashy, opulent Dom Perignon. The wine’s volume makes it approachable today, but readers in search of more complexity will want to cellar this for at least a few years to allow for some of the baby fat to drop off. Geoffroy describes the vintage as very ripe and adds that some of the Chardonnay showed the ill-effects of the hot growing season in it the somewhat burned, dehydrated fruit that came in that year. This bottle was disgorged in July, 2009. To be released summer 2010. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2032.” 96 points, Antonio Galloni, The Hedonist in the Cellar, March 2010
More details can be found in Richard Geoffroy’s excellent blog.