Dom Pérignon the king of champagne
I can count on getting asked two questions regularly. The first is “What’s the best wine you’ve ever drunk and what did it cost?” The second is “Was it worth it?”
“Worth it” is a subjective term. I know more than a few rich red wine drinkers who spend lots of money on their favourites and view champagne, even prestige cuvees, as rather a waste of money and time. But the need for celebration keeps even people who have never had a vintage champagne, let alone a prestige champagne, buying Dom Pérignon.
This tasting was designed because Bill Barlas told me a few months ago he wasn’t sure Dom Pérignon was “worth it.” I’ve chewed at this question a few times, serving Dom Pérignon to people who have never had it. Some of them don’t even drink white wine regularly. I decided to try a slightly different tactic with this bottle. I served the wine to two people beside myself, one of whom has had the stuff so rarely as to count as a neophyte. But the other, Bill, has had a lot of good wine, including Dom Pérignon.
To give my tasting panel a frame of reference, I opened a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut. Veuve is about 55 per cent Pinot Noir, with 15 per cent Pinot Meunier and the remaining 30 per cent Chardonnay. The 2009 Dom is about 60 per cent Pinot Noir and 40 per cent Chardonnay.
If you really want to understand champagne, you have find a label you like and stick with it, having at least four bottles a year. Then you need to add one of their vintage bottles (another four a year) to the mix, so you can start to get the hang of the vintages. Then and only then should you start drinking the prestige cuvee to see what you think. (This is a good plan for drinking any wine you like, red, white or sparkling.)
The tasting wasn’t done blind. Having done this a few times, I’ve learned it’s pointless. The bead is so magnificent in Dom that the wine is obvious. Anyone who drinks champagne can spot it instantly. My assistant taster, Elfira, commented “Small children could amuse themselves for hours staring at that.”
(I, of course, can and do.) Bill approached the tasting more formally. “You can spot it by the bubbles alone. The colour is very bright and clear. Very nice … aromatic … not too strong. I’m surprised how lively it still is.”
The Veuve “… tastes almost not like white wine.” By contrast, the Dom “… has a very clean finish.”
“If you don’t drink much wine I think it would be lost on you. I haven’t drunk enough of it. I need to drink it more.” (Queue trumpets in Moet HQ.)
The Veuve, a first-rate wine, and most winos’ go-to champagne, tastes almost clumsy beside the elegance of the Dom. Elfira and Bill — both would be impressed if I opened a bottle of the Veuve for them — had no doubt which wine they’d rather drink.
I’ll leave the last words to Bill. “To me, it tastes perfect! This is a good treat for a couple. Have a bottle at Christmas at home.” Wine of the Week:
Dom Pérignon 2009 $224
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Other choice:
Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label
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NV $72