Dom Perignon 2008

Robert ParkerUnquestionably the finest Dom Pérignon of the decade, the 2008 Dom Pérignon is drinking brilliantly today, wafting from the glass with notes of citrus oil, ripe orchard fruit, peach, buttered toast, pastry cream, iodine and smoky reduction. Full-bodied, rich and fleshy, it's vinous and layered, with a deep core of sweet fruit, racy acids and a long, saline finish. The 2008 is aging very gracefully.

James SucklingDeep and generous, yet driven, with delicious salted-butter and salted-caramel notes underneath the initial lemon and chalk. Really expands on the palate in all directions. Lemon cream and shortcrust. Creamy, yet underpinned by a sharp backbone of acidity throughout. Drink or hold.

Jeb DunnuckThe 2008 Dom Pérignon is the first time the estate has released a wine out of order (the 2009 was released before the 2008) but the estate loved the wine so much they felt it warranted additional aging. This is a rich, powerful wine that still shows incredible purity and elegance, with a stacked, concentrated feel on the palate. It’s rare to find such a mix of ripe, pure, concentrated fruit paired with this level of purity, focus, and precision. This is a legendary Dom that surpasses all the great vintages of Dom I have experience with, including the 1990, 1996, and 2002.

VinousThe 2008 Dom Pérignon is fabulous, but quite remarkably, it was even more open when I tasted it a year ago. Bright, focused and crystalline in its precision, the 2008 is going to need a number of years before it is at its best. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper give the 2008 its chiseled, bright profile. Several recent bottles have all been magnificent. What I admire most about the 2008 is the way it shows all the focus, translucence and energy that is such a signature of the year, and yet it is also remarkably deep and vertical. In other words, the 2008 is a Champagne that plays in three dimensions.

Möet & Chandon har eksisteret siden 1743, hvor huset blev grundlagt af Claude Möet. Hans drøm var at servere en udsøgt champagne til det adle og prominente folk i Paris, hvilket blev en succes. Men det var først da hans barnebarn Jean-Remy Möet overtog huset, at Möet & Chandon for alvor blev kendt af verden. Jean-Remy blev endda kendt som manden, der introducerede champagne til verden. Han fik også Champagneimperiet, som siden da kun har vokset sig større – og har en imponerende årlig produktion i omegnen af 26 millioner flasker.

Den rige smag og farve i Möets champagne kommer af kombinationen af tre forskellige druesorter: Pinot Noir – som giver body, struktur og intensitet, Pinot Meunier – der bringer fedme og rundhed og Chardonnay – som giver syrlighed, elegance og friskhed. Druerne kommer fra vinmarker i alle de fem hovedområder i Champagne, og Möet udvælger kun de bedste. Champagneimperiets vinmarker udgør 200 af de 321 crus i regionen, herunder 17 grands crus og 32 af de 44 premiers crus. Noget af det, der er så unikt ved Champagne-området, er den karakteristiske mineralitet, som kommer fra det tykke lag af kalk og kridt, der nogle steder er over 100 meter. Den porøse kalk sikrer en god dræning og holder samtidigt på vandet, så vinstokken aldrig tørster. Om dagen opmagasinerer kalken solens varme og afgiver den igen til druerne i de kølige aften- og nattetimer.

Möet & Chandons inspiration og passion har altid været at dele succes og glamour med verden, hvilket de har gjort i næsten tre århundrede, og fortsat gør den dag i dag. Deres champagne rimer på fest og glade dage. Nyd den til livets specielle øjeblikke – store som små.