x
  • Country ranking ?

    227
  • Producer ranking ?

    10
  • Decanting time

    10min
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Twice-cooked Anjou squab

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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The successive chefs de cave at Dom Pérignon have invariably put aside a substantial quantity of wines from each vintage to let them mature on their lees. Their foresight, legitimated by their unfailing trust in Dom Pérignon’s long ageing potential, allowed me to open the doors of this treasure trove to Dom Pérignon lovers. Starting in 2000, the name of Oenothèque felt natural when the time came to reveal this living memory of Dom Pérignon to the world.

In the fifteen years that have since elapsed, it has become clear that the existence of this wine library was merely a stepping stone on the path to celebrating autolysis, the mysterious and often misunderstood process of maturation on the lees. Setting Champagne apart from other wine regions, this long metamorphosis of the wine is the cornerstone of Dom Pérignon’s vision. Prolonging this focus, and thanks to decades over decades of transmitting this legacy from one chef de cave to the next, the fundamental concept of plénitudeemerged.

 

 

Unique to Dom Pérignon, these privileged moments of succession are called plénitudes—moments when the wine sings higher and stronger. Through regular tastings of older vintages, I am able to determine exactly when a Dom Pérignon vintage has reached the nextplénitude and is ready to be presented to the public. I am proud to introduce to you our new cuvée, whose name is of utmost relevance to Dom Pérignon’s singularity: P2 – Plénitude Deuxième.

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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.

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Wine Information

Oenothèque 1996 by Richard Geoffroy, 
The 1996 harvest:
The year was full of contrasts and the summer changeable, with the wetter periods never quite making up for the earlier hydric deficit. Eventually, in the month before grape-picking (16 September), it was as much the spells of hot weather as the influence of north-easterly winds that led to the original maturity of the vintage.

On the nose:
Praline rapidly combines with citron and dried figs. Darker underlying iodine and peaty notes also emerge.

On the palate:
There is an apparent paradox, with concentration and movement vying for ascendancy. The structure of the wine is tense and assertive. Its energy, almost tactile, is contained for a moment before vibrating and exploding. Its opulence then becomes superbly persistent, trenchant and persuasive.

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Vintage 1996

Up to this point 1996 has been considered a fantastic vintage which produced classic wines; the best since 1990. A long, dry summer produced grapes of record ripeness with record acidity. Some, including myself, question how the 1996s are aging. The wines are generally characterized by a distinctive rather lemony acidity and very good attack, but some wines now seem terribly austere, while others already seem dangerously short of fruit. None of the subsequent vintages are quite as distinctive as 1996, which in the more successful cases should almost certainly be drunk after the 1999s.

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Tasting note

color

Full and Clear

ending

Long, Extensive, Gentle and Neutral

flavors

Perfumed, Honey, White fruits, Creamy, Nutty and Buttery

nose

Intense, Complex, Seductive and Tempting

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Multi-dimensional, Complex, Balanced, Developing, Full-bodied, Harmonious, Elegant, Fresh, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Excellent

Written Notes

Has won yet to be in contact with the lees even longer. A further shift in this masterpiece. Put the magnums away magnum and drink from 2025. IN bottle it’s already sweet with a strong seafood elements, classical toasty, nutty richness backed by a senseless acid and length.

  • 95p

50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay. Disgorged April 2013.
Deeper straw than the regular 1996 vintage Dom P. Much more expressive on the nose, although with lots of evidence of age. Complete and fresh on the palate – much more youthful than the regular 1996. For perfection I’d choose the nose of this and the palate of the regular! Masses of acidity still in evidence. Exuberant, creamy wine with no hurry to drink it.

  • 94p

Praline rapidly combines with citron and dried figs. Darker underlying iodine and peaty notes also emerge.

There is an apparent paradox, with concentration and movement vying for ascendancy. The structure of the wine is tense and assertive. Its energy, almost tactile, is contained for a moment before vibrating and exploding. Its opulence then becomes superbly persistent, trenchant and persuasive.

Dom Pérignon 1996 Oenotheque / This is the most impressive Dom Perignon that I have tasted with an incredible linear focus and a tension that suggests this wine will cellar for decades. This Oenotheque was re-released in 2012, about ten years after its first release in 2003/2004. A very youthful Champagne with a light lemon hue with flavours that are incredibly fresh; the toasty, layered flavours are very long in the finish. 98p

  • 98p

Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1996, 99 points

What more could I want from a champagne? Tight, refined, powerful… delicate flavours of citrus peel mingle with the signature crushed coffee grounds and oyster shell.  Lingering and rendering me somewhat speechless, before inspiring a (largely ineloquent) monologue dominated by fricative consonants and punctuated by laughter…

  • 99p
Jag har länge varit kritiker till den av de flesta hyllade ’96:an. Har tyckt att den enbart byggt sitt rykte på syran, som nästan alltid varit för kantig & skarp. Men nu vid en ålder av ca 20 år så börjar bitarna falla på plats. Klassisk rostning, nötig rikedom uppbackad av en sanslös syra och längd. Ett mästerlikt vin som jag gärmna kommer att dricka från nu och till slutet av 20-talet.
  • 97p
Medium-deep lenmon colour. Rich, round, ovet, lemony, ripe honeyed, intense. More chewy, very youthful,Long, intense, straw-like, more mellow.
  • 94p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

8

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