Dom Perignon Vintage 2005

The wine in this vintage

A warm and uneven year, 2005 favoured Pinot Noir above all, while some areas struggled with rain and sanitary issues close to harvest. Many houses chose not to declare it; Dom Pérignon instead worked through strict selection and produced a broad, sunny vintage. The Vintage 2005 is generous, with ripe yellow fruit, toasted bread and sweet spice, supported by a freshness that is less incisive than in cooler years but well integrated. Jancis Robinson gave it 18.5/20 and Wine Enthusiast 95 points. Still youthful in its development, it will benefit from a few more years in the cellar to refine its texture and build tertiary complexity.

The producer · Dom Perignon

Dom Pérignon takes its name from Pierre Pérignon, the Benedictine cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers in the late seventeenth century, whom tradition regards as the spiritual father of Champagne for his pioneering approach to blending. The house, closely tied to Moët & Chandon and now part of LVMH, released its first vintage, the 1921, in 1936, effectively inventing the prestige cuvée. Dom Pérignon is made only as a vintage wine, and only in years judged worthy, from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir drawn from the finest crus of the region, with Hautvillers as its symbolic home. The style pursues a constant tension between the two grapes, between power and precision, with a mineral, toasty signature that unfolds slowly over years. Alongside the Vintage, the house releases a Rosé and the Plénitudes, later releases of the same vintage after far longer ageing on the lees, which show how the wine transforms with time. Few names embody the very idea of great Champagne so completely.

Critics' scores

• 95 Wine Enthusiast
• 94 Wine Spectator
• 18.5/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Dom Perignon

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

2005

When to drink

Not yet at its peak

Critics' average

94.5/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0420105