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Wine Description
The Story
DOM PÉRIGNON OENOTHÈQUE / As the custodian of Dom Pérignon’s history and style, Geoffroy watches over a few samples of each vintage in his OEnothèque, the Chef de Cave’s wine cellar. In the OEnothèque, the wine continues to mature for years and even decades, and is reborn with each metamorphosis of time, for Dom Pérignon is unanimously recognized for its impressive aging potential. As Geoffroy puts it, “Dom Pérignon OEnothèque is the ultimate expression of a wine whose style defies time.”
Geoffroy’s commitment to the OEnothèque program, which began with the 1990 Vintage, involves ongoing personal research on each vintage. The effect of time on the bottled wine retains its share of mystery and surprise even for him.
Dom Pérignon keeps pushing one step further, sometimes rewriting the rules, to pave the path for renewed experiences. So does Œnothèque, glorifying the exclusive process of actively aging a wine on its lees to offer a magnified style through re-releases. Œnothèque prolongs the character of the original Vintage wine, coming ever closer to the ideal of Dom Pérignon. The patience of wine lovers is now rewarded with a deeper, more intimate discovery and perception of Dom Pérignon. The current Vintage is put in proper perspective by giving a glimpse of the aging potential. It would now be virtually impossible for me to imagine Dom Pérignon without its Œnothèque expression.
Vintage 2002
A cold winter and a mild late spring cued for a perfect June allowing early and fast flowering. Outstanding weather conditions prevailed and the season went on without dramatic turns. Rains in August raised concerns regarding gray rot, but finally sunshine and dry conditions throughout September resulted in an abundant crop of largely healthy fruit (11,930 kg/ha). Dehydration due to wind further aided in achieving perfect ripeness and additional concentration. This, and the cool nights, helped in retaining fresh acidity and, despite the ripeness (10.3% potential alcohol), the wines did not suffer from heaviness or a lack of life. A near-perfect vintage, which produced balanced Champagnes consistently around the region. The best show an impeccable combination of freshness, power, structure and finesse. However, some have matured aromatically quicker than expected and are already past their peak. 2002 produced an abundance of spectacular champagnes, such as Dom Pérignon (the entire range), Krug Vintage and Clos du Mesnil, Piper-Heidsieck Rare, Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Ruinart Dom Ruinart and Dom Ruinart Rosé, Salon Le Mesnil and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, to name a few.