1983 Dom Pérignon, Brut Vintage Champagne by Moët et Chandon, France.
One of the world’s most glamorous symbols, the iconic Dom Pérignon luxury Champagne is still a magic force in the wine world, and while many just buy it to be cool at the club, a well aged and cellared bottle is the real treasure, as this gorgeous 1983 showed recently at a surprise birthday party. Tasting Dom, young or old, still is a treat, it is a standard in the Tête Cuvées of the Grand Marques Champagne Houses, and while it is much or hyped and while there is many a fine sparkling wines that rival it, it is a lovely wine that can really shine on the right occasion. The deeply golden hued 1983 Is fully mature and the mousse is finely delicate at this stage, it is showing an obvious stage of old age, but still very much joyous on the medium bodied palate with baked apple, lemony citrus, pie crust, hazelnut, dried orange, autumn leaves, dried figs, toast and wet stone. Not far off what you’d find in an aged white Burgundy, but somehow a bit more lively and this bottle, with perfect fill and a cork that gently hissed as it came out without protest or crumbles, impressed all that tasted it, and it was up against a recent vintage of Salon! Dom Pérignon, a single harvest vintage wine, is always an assemblage of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, although the final composition changes every vintage, it is closer to equal parts than not. The earliest market release of the regular Dom vintage is usually after 8-10 years, with loads of lees aging and refinement in the bottle.
In recent years Dom Pérignon has added many special editions and cuvées to the lineup, including the P or Plénitudes series and the discontinued Œnothèque versions, which are exceptional, plus an artist label every new release, like the colorful Andy Warhal editions with the 2000-2002 vintages and late David Lynch version in 2003. My favorites of the later releases have been the 1990 and 1993 Œnothèque, and the regular bottling of the 1996, so it was very cool to try a privately cellared regular Dom, and it was outstanding. In recent years, I’ve been more in love with Extra Brut Grower Fizz, so this was a good reminder that these old Grand Marques have plenty of rewards to offer and shouldn’t be overlooked, as my friend Julia Macaletti, formerly of San Francisco Wine Trading Company, has always told me, she always stashes her Dom Perignon allocations away for a minimum of 20 years! It’s well reported that Dom Pérignon Champagne is named for a Benedictine monk who was an important historical figure and pioneer for Champagne style wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for making sparkling wines, but his efforts resulted in creating a huge high quality reputation of the Reims village and Champagne as a whole. Interestingly, as I was to learn, the very first vintage of Dom Pérignon was 1921 and was only released for sale in 1936, to those sailing to New York from Europe on the oceanliner Normandie.The Dom Perignon brand, was not well marketed early on and was given by Champagne Mercier to Moët (et Chandon) in 1927 as a gift for a wedding between the two families. After that it fortunes changed dramatically and the legend was born.
($350+ Est.) 95 Points, grapelive