Dom Perignon Vertical

Back in Dec '07 I was lucky enough to attend a vertical tasting of Dom Perignon at Vintners Hall, organised by the Institute of Masters of Wine and hosted by DP's Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy.

DP was minimal, I was about to embark on a trip to Champagne to visit small growers so these wines would be an excellent benchmark for my subsequent tastings.

Geoffroy was coy about yields and volume of production perhaps, because, like many of the Grands Maisons, he feels slightly embarrassed about it. Yields in Champagne are notoriously high - 80 hectolitres / hectare is common for many wines. However, he was keen to stress that all grapes for DP are estate grown and Grand Cru - which somewhat contradicts Richard Juhlin in his weighty tome '4,000 Champagnes' which states that some Chardonnay is sourced from the Union Champagne co-op in Avize.