1996 Moët & Chandon "Cuvée Dom Pérignon" Brut Rosé Champagne

The 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé is drinking beautifully today and seems even a hair less evolved than its non-Rosé counterpart. That said, I do not know why this wine left me just a little bit cold stylistically. All of the constituent components here are exemplary and the wine is at the top of its game at the present time, but I walked away wondering if this is simply a wine that will never hit the sweet notes for my palate. The bouquet is deep and complex, offering up a vibrant blend of cranberry, blood orange, sumac, bonfire, citrus peel, a hint of mushroom and a gentle topnote of charred marshmallow. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, quite elegant in profile and rock solid at the core, with a good spine of acidity, a lovely core of fruit, refined mousse and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. This wine still has easily twenty-plus more years of primetime drinking in its immediate future. Perhaps as it continues to evolve with further bottle age, it will develop aromatics and flavors I find even more compelling than those it displays today?

Another example of this era, the 1996 Dom Pérignon Rosé offers plenty of energy and tension, both signatures of the vintage. At the same time, though, the fruit never fills out, which tilts the balance to acidity and austerity. Frankly, I liked the 1996 more when it was younger. Today, the fruit has either begun to drop out or is simply less expressive. I look forward to checking in on the 1996 soon to see if this may have been a less than perfect example. Disgorged 2004. (AG)