A supple backbone of citrusy acidity provides fine definition for this still fresh and lightly mouthwatering 2003, which is soft and creamy on the palate, offering heady aromas and flavors of marmalade, baked white peach, white truffle and coffee liqueur, underscored by minerally brine and smoke accents. This is finely detailed and well-meshed on the verbena- and spice-laced finish. Drink now through 2028. (AN)

The 2003 Dom Pérignon P2 is rich and demonstrative, wafting from the glass with aromas of stone fruits, honeycomb and buttered toast that leave more space for the wine's generous fruit tones than the more overtly yeasty original disgorgement. Full-bodied, broad and textural, it remains very youthful despite its below-average acidity, with notable precision to its ripe fruit tones and chalky structuring extract that provides, to some extent, a compensating sensation of freshness; it's actually evolving more slowly than its 2002 counterpart. Given the wine's richness, it works best with food. Chaperon relates that then-Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy rejected any musts with a pH exceeding 3.3, the only time this metric has been used as a basis for selection for Dom Pérignon, and that the juice was allowed to oxidize before vinification. I'm looking forward to seeing the 2003 in its P3 incarnation, as I suspect that the wine will really come into its own when it develops more tertiary notes. (WK)