In the 17th century, Dom Pérignon, a monk living in the abbey of Saint Pierre d’Hautvillers, declared his intention to make the best wine in the world. The ambitious, creative monk therefore set out in search of a captivating harmony, finding inspiration for his innovations in nature. It was a quest that would prove a perpetual quest, one driven by aesthetic and sensory values, precision and balance. Dom Pérignon developed viticulture and winemaking techniques that were so revolutionary that his wines were even served at Versailles.
Today, his creative ambition lives on with each vintage champagne produced by Maison Dom Pérignon.
What sets Dom Pérignon champagnes apart
A Dom Pérignon is always a vintage wine and always an assemblage – that is what makes it so special. The unpredictability of the seasons and the desire to produce the best champagne in the world require a unique approach. This consists of selecting the best grapes and best plots based on determinants such as character, identity, uniqueness and technical aspects, to produce an inimitable assemblage.
An unparalleled diversity of vineyards and high-quality plots
At the heart of the creation are nine Dom Pérignon crus: eight grands crus – Aÿ, Bouzy, Verzenay, Mailly, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Le Mesnil – and the legendary Hautvillers premier cru. But Dom Pérignon also has the exclusive privilege of selecting grapes from the 17 grands crus of Champagne, to create wines of a quality that is second to none.
The constraints of vintage champagnes and assemblages as a source of harmony
Maison Dom Pérignon’s creative ambition is a perpetual quest for harmony, drawing on its traditional sensory values: precision, intensity, tactility, minerality, complexity, completeness, a way of holding the note… All creative processes have their constraints. For Dom Pérignon, it is the vintage. Whatever the challenges may be, and even at the risk of not declaring the vintage, Maison Dom Pérignon has made it its mission to make each vintage bear witness to the harvest of a single year. Time is an important component in the Dom Pérignon equation. As each vintage matures on the lees, in the darkness of the cellars, its unique personality begins to unfold.
A vintage champagne allows the wines to develop both the high acidity and clear minerality characteristic of a “late harvest”, as well as the full-bodiedness and elegance of a high-quality wine.
Vintage 2013: Elegant Clarity
Slow maturation and the quest for harmony are fundamental aspects of Maison Dom Pérignon’s creative process. Thanks to his vision and masterful ability to perfectly capture the special features of a specific vintage, the cellar master is able to anticipate the effect of the passage of time on the wine. After maturing on lees for around ten years, Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 today reveals the harmony of a champagne shaped by time and invites you to a tasting experience that unveils an elegant, delicate champagne.
Vintage 2013 expresses the two dimensions of Maison Dom Pérignon’s creative process. Firstly, it successfully marries the opposite and complementary elements of 2013: acidity and roundness, thereby creating a resonance, a dialogue that unfurls just the right balance of the different aromas and flavours. It is these striking contrasts, carefully blended with precision, that set the perspective of the 2013 assemblage, which also relies on a second directional dimension. In making Dom Pérignon, the cellar master anticipates maturation and assesses the impact of the coming period on the harmony of the assemblage. An assemblage that today, after nearly 10 years of maturation, reveals the elegant clarity of this new Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013.
This 2013 vintage reveals a triumphant resonance between pinot noirs and chardonnays, acidity and roundness. Its precise, elegant, tangible bouquet unfolds aromatic, delicate notes around three nuances: first citrus, then a more vegetal facet and, finally, spices. This precision gives rise to an high elegance, whereby the wine intensifies after a light and airy start.
Pairing suggestions
The intensity of Dom Pérignon 2013 invites you to work with its different acidities. We recommend pairing the champagne with salty, acidic delicacies like oysters, and acid-rich vegetables like sorrel, and citrus fruits.