2017 Dom Perignon, Champagne, France (750ml)

WINEMAKER'S NOTES:

Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 reveals a dual character that captivates instantly. Between bitterness and acidity, between sweetness and tension, between opulence and edge, and between roundness and straightness. This duality unfolds a dreamlike world of fragrances and flavors capable of reconciling opposites. An acute smell of petrichor, together warm and fresh. The scent of a heady flower, of jasmine. The complex touch of candied zest, altogether vegetal and fruity, soft and grainy.

Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 feels like a substance in zero gravity, with the fluidity of a moving mass. The movement pulses, boiling, then whirling. The wine leaves an impression of soft gushing. Of these evening perfumes, intense and mysterious, which trail carries us away. Of these fluid and rhythmic dances which movement we are drawn into. Seduction.

TASTING NOTES:

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.

- Vinous, 98 pts. 

Dense and layered with dried apples and pears as well as candied lemons, grilled lemons and lemon meringue. It's full-bodied, rich, tangy and flavorful. March 2026 release. Tiny production. Smallest ever for Dom Pérignon. A blend of 61% chardonnay and 39% pinot noir. Dosage 4.5 g/L.

- James Suckling, 96 pts. 

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.

- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 pts. 

A vivid Champagne, offering a finely detailed mousse, with a toasty overtone to the flavors of crushed white raspberry and white cherry fruit, grapefruit pith, toast point and oyster shell, all defined by chiseled, lemony acidity. A fine example from a challenging vintage. Drink now through 2037.

- Wine Spectator, 94 pts.