THE WINE COLUMN
Champagne Dom Pérignon W
Dom Pérignon wanted the wine to be excellent because he wanted it to be for God
E DRIVE FROM THE Krug house in the centre of busy Reims into the undulating, vine-covered
hills of Hautvillers: home to the top cuvée from the Moët & Chandon stable and probably the most famous Champagne in the world: Dom Pérignon. While comparisons are not exact – we dined in the Krug’s private house and did not visit the vineyards – it seemed fitting that our first stop with the Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy was overlooking the vineyards from the walls of the famous Abbey itself. We visit the cellars that the monk Dom Pérignon kept for so many years before heading to the Abbey for a tasting in a large room with nothing in it but a long, dark wooden table; the only colour against the stark, white-washed stone walls. If Krug was intimate, cosy and packed full of eye- catching detail in sumptuous colours, this was precisely the opposite. The wines had, literally, nowhere to hide. From humble beginnings as the
youngest of seven children to a local clerk, Dom Pérignon entered the order of Saint Bénédict at the age of 17, transferring to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre d’Hautvilliers in his 30th year, where he stayed as cellar master until his death in 1715. Contrary to popular belief, Dom Pérignon did not invent champagne. In fact, he spent many years trying to prevent the secondary fermentation that creates the bubbles in the first place, as many injuries happened and much wine was spoiled by re-fermenting bottles exploding under pressure in the heat of the summer months. What Dom Pérignon did do, however, was advocate natural winemaking techniques, harvesting grapes at cooler temperatures, smaller yields and the disposal of rotten grapes, all of which come together to make a wine that is better quality, more stable and elegant. “He wanted the wine to be excellent because he wanted it to be for God,” the vineyard manager tells us. Hearing the story of Dom Pérignon, it
is hard not to look at Richard Geoffroy as the Dom himself, dressed humbly as he is, with the rustic air of a man who spends most of his time outdoors. His descriptions of each wine are famously
Stockists for Krug & Dom Pérignon:
Clos19.com, Berry Bros & Rudd and other independent wine merchants. SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE 69
poetic and it’s clear that, for him, the only thing that matters is the wine. No distractions. We are spoiled by a technical tasting of several wines side by side as we were at Krug, but the big difference here is that the focus is on the vintage rather than the blends of several years.
THE DOM PÉRIGNON APPROACH – PERFECTING THE SINGLE VINTAGE At Dom Pérignon, only vintage wines are made, i.e. with grapes all grown in a single year. What this means of course is that if the weather is not kind and the grapes are not deemed worthy, then an entire harvest can be written off. “That element of risk-taking is essential,” says Geoffroy. “It’s about stepping outside the comfort zone if you want to innovate. Champagne should not get so stuck on style. If it’s too safe, in the long run, the brand loses vibrancy.” And so, thus informed, we taste several vintage wines side by side as Geoffroy talks us through the conditions of each growing season in perfect detail as if reciting a favourite play. “You must have a clear understanding of the vintage,” he says, “to memorise what each individual wine (parcel) is all about … only then can you go into the mental process of blending.” With such assistance, we have a
masterclass on the effects of vintage on
Champagne with the most delightful examples to play with. Purity and precision are the key words and the 1973 knocks our socks off at the end with its lemon cream and honeyed, tropical notes, all the while still lithe and elegant. We try some of them in their second – and third – plénitudes.
DOM PÉRIGNON’S ‘PLÉNITUDE’ EXPLAINED Wines of all kinds have an arc of development when they age. A little like all of us, they are first fruit-forward in youth, then close down for a while, to reopen energised and with less of the youthful fruit perhaps, but with more of the complexity that comes with age. If they are great wines truly worthy of long ageing, then they may also have the chance to go through this process one more time.
Despite being worlds apart in style and
story, it seems that these two iconic Champagne houses are aligned on one thing: the idea of holding back some superb vintages until they are ready to blossom again in their second – or even third – revelation or plénitude. And so, whether we need a dose of power and a touch of glamour or something more linear and contemplative, at least we know we have a wealth of styles to choose from. Lucky, lucky us. n
Cellars for probably the most famous Champagne in the world: Dom Pérignon
IMAGES ADOBE STOCK, KRUG, DOM PÉRIGNON
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