Description / Reviews
// 62% Chardonnay and 38% Pinot Noir (from 18 Grand Crus + Hautvillers Premier Cru)
Aged on lees for 7 years before disgorgement in March 2024
5g/L dosage
"2017 has known three sequences, three opposite directions which are the foundations of this vintage’s character in tension. In the vineyard, the year began in a mild way. At the beginning of spring, in March, quietness was broken by 12 frost days, which led to a reduction in the potential yield. The rest of spring and the beginning of summer were hot and dry, which consolidated precocious maturation, and was propitious to sugar concentration in the remaining grapes. The rainfalls at the end of August changed the situation. Similarly to 2005 and 2010, the cropping strategy and the ability to sort out the grapes were essential to save the best fruit. The harvested chardonnays were the ripest since 2000. When uninfected, the pinots noirs showed a very beautiful balance between maturity and freshness. Due to its birth under tension, there is an intrinsic component of mystery to Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017, a complexity, a duality, like a dive into the eye of an energy storm. Between opulence and edge, between roundness and straightness, it reconciles contraries. It has mineral tension, a signature so iconic for Dom Pérignon. Yet also the generosity of unheard-of maturities, in a tamed and channeled way though. Its movement is pulsating, whirling, like a substance escaping gravity. Animated all along, it finds its final on candied yellow citrus skin. It springs up and bounces, like lightning, yet with the seduction of a moving smoothness." - House Notes
"This is indeed a beautiful example of a great Dom Pérignon! The wine is very precise yet ethereal – with dreamy notes of Bishop’s Lace, white/green snowdrops, white nectarines and lily of the valley. There is maiden-hair fern swaying in the breeze, as well as Samphire – that salty succulent growing in beach areas. The salinity in this champagne is so striking and tempts the palate to search for further nuances, showing in the form of energetic mousse and crunchy acidity. There is a very enticing nose of green pears packed in new straw in a fresh wooden box, as well as herbaceous notes of chervil, lemon thyme and glimpses of tarragon. One can also find baby green peas in their pods, and lots of finger lime with its intriguing flavour. This wine abounds with lime characteristics - also in the form of Kaffir and Tahitian – as well as suggestion of almost green mango and flicks of custard apple. There are a few wild strawberries and raspberries creeping in, but it is the chardonnay which dominates and gives such precision to the palate. 5 grams of dosage is the perfect balance. There is a whisper of honeydew melon and some complexity from grated macadamia nuts and blanched almonds all surrounding lucious white cherries. There are flinty layers, with the whole wine focused on chalky & mineral presence, binding the final package together with style, enticement, and amazing precision. It is the hallmark of elegance and complexity with exuberant charm! My dear friend Richard Geoffroy (former chef de cave of Dom Pérignon) blended this incredible champagne – which was his last composition – having composed his first Dom for the 1990 vintage. He taught me so much about palate structure and I recall his insistence on 'blending' – to always show restraint! With the massive amount of vineyards he had to play with, it would have been so easy to make full generous wines, but he wanted us to enjoy the experience of the wine 'growing' in our glasses and cellars. Such a great farewell champagne for him to leave us with – 'restraint' in abundance - and a treasure to have for many years to come!" - Bernadette O'Shea, Champagne Consultant, The Wine Emporium
"The 2017 Dom Pérignon is just as stunning as it was last year, if not more so. What a wine! Lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers and chalk soar out of the glass. The 2017 is like a slightly more refined version of the 2002, another year in which the Chardonnays were quite opulent. In 2017, Chardonnay accounts for 61% of the blend, very high for Dom Pérignon. Over the last year, the 2017 has gained mid-palate creaminess and has just come together beautifully. Sadly, production is tiny, so much so that the 2017 is expected to be in the market for just a few months before the maison transitions to the 2018." - 98 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
"Of the two releases—the 2017 and the 2018—the 2017 Dom Pérignon is the deeper and more structurally endowed wine, unfurling from the glass with a complex bouquet of orange peel, dried apricot and burnt buttered toast, mingling with nuances of dried flowers, toasted hazelnut and cacao bean, all strongly singed with the house’s signature smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied and concentrated, with a rich core of fruit. Its darker, open-knit profile is animated by a pillowy mousse, vibrant acidity and attractively bitter, structuring phenolics that assert themselves on a long, resonant finish." - 95+ Points, Kristaps Karklins, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
