Tasting Notes
Vinous 98
The 2008 Dom Pérignon is a huge, powerful Champagne and also clearly one of the wines of the vintage. This is one of the most reticent bottles I have tasted. So much so that I am thinking about holding off opening any more bottles! The 2008 has always offered a striking interplay of fruit and structure. Today, the richness of the fruit is especially evident. Readers who own the 2008 should be thrilled, but patience is a must. (Originally published in May 2021)
Anticipated maturity: 2028-2058
Robert Parker 95
The 2008 Dom Perignon continues to show very well, offering up a pretty bouquet of Anjou pear, fresh peach, citrus oil, fresh pastry, smoke and iodine. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, lively and incisive, with an elegantly textural attack and a creamy core of fruit that’s underpinned by a bright but nicely integrated spine of acidity. The finish is long, saline and well-defined. As I wrote earlier this year, this is the finest Dom Perignon since 1996, Richard Geoffroy’s push for additional ripeness working well with the late-maturing, high-acid vintage. While it can be appreciated young, the 2008 will really start to blossom with five or six years of bottle age.
Anticipated maturity: 2019-2050
JancisRobinson.com 18.5++
Really complex nose. Tight and layered. Very much a 2008 with very high acidity but much more undertow and embroidery than the Grande Dame 2008. Still very youthful. I’d be tempted to decant this, almost!
Anticipated maturity: 2020-2035