Dom Pérignon 2006 comes from a sunny, ripe year and has grown into one of the more generous vintages of the 2000s. It was the fifth declared year in a row for the house, and it now drinks with real depth and bottle-aged character.
About This Champagne
The season swung about. July was scorching, August turned cool and damp, and a warm, almost summery September dried out patches of rot and pushed ripeness well past the norm. Picking began on 11 September and ran for close to four weeks. The wine spent around eight years on its lees and reached the market in autumn 2015. Critics generally place it among the riper, rounder Dom Pérignons, with enough phenolic grip to keep it lively.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Candied fruit and pineapple, then toast, hay and a flicker of liquorice. Age now adds almond and a light nutty edge.
- Palate: Rich and succulent in the middle, silkier than creamy, with peach, tangerine and a firm core that keeps the weight in check.
- Finish: Slightly bitter in a good way and long, with a salty, sea-air note at the very end.
Serving & Food
Serve at about 10°C in a white wine glass or a wide tulip rather than a narrow flute, so the toast and fruit have room. It is in a good place now and should hold well into the 2030s. Try it with roast chicken and morels, lobster in butter, or a wedge of aged Comté.
How to Enjoy
A mature Dom Pérignon for a sit-down dinner, or for anyone who likes Champagne with some bottle age on it.
Product Details
Producer: Dom Pérignon
Origin: Champagne, France
Style: Vintage Brut Champagne
Grape Variety: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Vintage: 2006
ABV: 12.5%
Volume: 750mL
About the Maison
Dom Pérignon is the vintage-only prestige cuvée of Moët & Chandon in Épernay. The first wine came from the 1921 harvest and went on sale in 1936. It is named after Dom Pierre Pérignon, the Benedictine monk who looked after the cellars at the Abbey of Hautvillers from 1668, and every release is a blend of just two grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, in shares that shift with the year.
The 2006 was made under Richard Geoffroy, cellar master from the 1990 vintage until the end of 2018. With it, the house completed an unbroken run of five vintages from 2002, something it had never done before.