This is just beginning to spread its wings and is already supremely drinkable at nearly 15 years of age. It has excellent roundness, with cream and crystallised fruit joined by a touch of oatmeal and oyster shell just kicking in. Again, there’s a gorgeously flamboyant ripeness, which is held in check by some firm, counterbalancing acidity. Some 2004s can be a bit lean on the finish, but this is fluid, elongated and texturally very compelling. A vin de plaisir which will keep on giving for many years to come. (JS)

The 2004 Dom Pérignon is another great classic in the making, and this is one of those vintages that will truly deserve all of 30 years’ worth of bottle age, so that it can fully blossom and deliver fully its formidable potential. The beautiful bouquet delivers a refined still youthful constellation of green apple, menthol, salty minerality, white flowers, a touch of iodine and already, the first hints of the crème patissière to come with more bottle age. On the palate the wine is pure, full and very racy in personality, with a lovely core, excellent complexity, refined mousse and superb focus and grip on the very long and energetic finish. This is still a puppy and needs several more years in the cellar to start to blossom, but it will be stunning once it reaches its plateau of peak maturity. Expect it to first start to properly open at age 20 and really hit its stride at age 30 and beyond. 96+

A return to regular form after the wild 2003 edition, this is business as usual in terms of the composed and complex swagger that is a hallmark of Dom. Good deep autolysis here, toasty yeasty characters wrap around a wealth of grapefruit and pithy lemon citrus notes; the chardonnay rings clear as a bell at around half of the blend. The palate has assertive, driving power and fully formed deep-seated phenolic presence with a chord of acidity steering it through a long, fresh and gently nutty finish. Classic Dom is back!