(Notes from Decanter panel tasting.) Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW: Brioche, almonds and red apples on the nose and palate. Great balance with dosage and acidity. Excellent combination of fruit and bottle age. Stefan Neumann MS: Top-notch salty, mineral, iodine-like aromas. Showing a wonderful sourdough-like character with delicate roasted nuts. Depth and drive, elegance and power. Matt Walls: Deep, intense, full-bodied style of Champagne, voluminous, generous, very powerful and thunderous. Very long – this is a great wine. So harmonious. (Panel Tasting)

The 2008 Dom Pérignon is the first time the estate has released a wine out of order (the 2009 was released before the 2008) but the estate loved the wine so much they felt it warranted additional aging. This is a rich, powerful wine that still shows incredible purity and elegance, with a stacked, concentrated feel on the palate. It’s rare to find such a mix of ripe, pure, concentrated fruit paired with this level of purity, focus, and precision. This is a legendary Dom that surpasses all the great vintages of Dom I have experience with, including the 1990, 1996, and 2002.

Seven champagnes were submitted for this tasting at prices significantly higher than this great wine. It's a simple outcome of supply and demand, for Dom's production is measured in millions of bottles each year. There are often several vintages on sale, none better than this vibrant, elegant, incredibly youthful 2008. *Gold, Top 100 of 2019*