Tasting Notes
Vinous 96
The 2000 Dom Pérignon Rosé is just starting to enter its first plateau of maturity. Sweet tobacco, mint, dried flowers, rose petal, game, licorice and tobacco add myriad shades of aromatic nuance. This is the first vintage in which former Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy started bumping up the percentage of still Pinot in his quest to make a more vinous Rosé. Naturally, some of the sheer intensity the 2000 showed as a young wine has faded. More importantly, I find the 2000 in a transitional phase where it is settling into the next stage of its life. For that reason, I would prefer to cellar it for at least a few years.
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2039
Robert Parker 96
The 2000 Dom Perignon Rose is a flashy, ripe Champagne that screams Pinot to a degree I have never encountered in another vintage of this wine. A dark, intense color leads to a Chambolle-like nose followed by endless red berries, flowers and spices, all backed up with plenty of muscle, richness and density. The wine continues to blossom on the palate, with utterly beguiling detail, clarity and polish, all qualities that resonate on the rich, expansive finish. The 2000 Dom Perignon Rose is 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot Noir, of which 25% is still Pinot. Geoffroy says his goal was to make a statement with the 2000 Dom Perignon Rose; he has done that?and so much more. In fact, the 2000 seems to signal a stylistic shift towards a more important, serious style of rose. This superb wine is not to be missed, but readers should note this is no easygoing rose, rather it is a Champagne that demands serious attention. The 2000 will test the limits of what readers expect from a Dom Perignon Rose, but the wine is simply marvelous. I loved it. This bottle was disgorged in 2008. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025. Four new releases of the flagship Dom Perignon are the highlights among these Champagnes from Moet & Chandon. There is a timeless elegance about Dom Perignon that I find comforting and reassuring, like a favorite restaurant or food. For that reason, nothing could have prepared me for the Champagnes I tasted recently with Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy. While the 2002 Dom Perignon and 1996 Dom Perignon OEenotheque are both for the most part representative of what readers have come to expect from this house, the 2000 Dom Perignon Rose and 1990 Dom Perignon Rose OEenotheque are wines that push the envelope and push it hard. I can’t think of another winemaker at a Grande Marque who is willing to take these kinds of risks by turning well-established conventions on their head. Much of what I tasted reminded me of the experimental, searching spirit that defines so many of the smaller-production, artisan Champagnes being made today. As the saying goes ‘no guts no glory’ and there is plenty of both here. These wines are nothing short of magnificent. Importer: Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 251-8200
Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025
