Dom Pérignon · Hautvillers
The layers of time
at Dom Pérignon.
Six vintages, one creative philosophy and a morning in which the abbey’s legacy met the maison’s contemporary vision.
Our morning in Hautvillers brought together two layers of time: the quiet legacy of the abbey and the contemporary thinking of a maison that expresses itself exclusively through vintage Champagne. Amine Ghanem, one of Dom Pérignon’s winemakers, guided us. His passion and nuanced reflections brought us closer to the collective creative approach that the house links to the spiritual legacy of the monastic community.
Two vintages, two characters
The tasting opened with Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015and Vintage 2013. The firm, robust personality of 2015 created a vivid contrast with the refined, airy elegance of 2013. Side by side, they revealed more than the difference between two vintages: they expressed one of Dom Pérignon’s defining dualities, the constant dialogue between structure and lightness.
The house style lies not in making vintages resemble one another, but in allowing each to become a character in its own right.
The second face of time
Three Plénitude 2 releases followed: 2006, 2004 and 2000. Their extended maturation delivered far more than simple maturity; each unfolded the layers of time in a different texture and rhythm. They were complex and detailed, yet unmistakably connected by the same Dom Pérignon DNA.
Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009 brought the tasting to a radiant, spicy and sensual close. Yet the memory of the visit is held by more than this exceptional line-up. Amine’s openness, our shared reflections and the quiet intensity with which past and present met in Hautvillers remain every bit as important.