Dom Pérignon - the Champagne Prince! (Part 2)

Bottle of Dom Pérignon
 
The first buyers of Dom Pérignon 1921 were 150 customers of Simon Bros & Co, the company that imported Moët in the United Kingdom, which ordered the first 300 bottles. The wine got immediate attention in the marketplace and 100 boxes were shipped to the United States shortly thereafter. James Buchanan Duke, the billionaire who had founded the American Tobacco Company, ordered 100 bottles for himself. The 17 bottles sold at an auction in Christie's in New York City in June 2004 were part of that order (Doris Duke, the billionaire's daughter, had kept them in her cellar). According to current Dom Pérignon cellar master Richard Geoffroy (2012), who has been Chef de Cave for Dom Pérignon since 1990, the 1921 vintage had a "distinctive bouquet comprising sandalwood, vanilla and praline".







Until the 1943 vintage, Dom Pérignon was produced from regular vintage Moët & Chandon Champagne that was transferred to the special 18th Century-style bottles after extended cellaring. It was thus effectively an "oenothèque" release of Moët & Chandon Vintage Champagne in a different bottle. From the 1947 vintage, Dom Pérignon has been produced separately from the start.
 
In 1971, the Shah of Iran ordered several bottles of the first vintage of Dom Pérignon Rosé (the 1959) for the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire. A bottle of that champagne, from that order, was auctioned off for €24,758 in 2008.
 
In 1981, Dom Pérignon was chosen for the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. The magnums of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 served on that July 29 carried a special insignia created just for the ceremony.
 


Vintages
 
Dom Pérignon is always a vintage champagne, meaning that it is not made in weak years, and all grapes used to make the wine were harvested in the same year.
 
From 1921 to 2004, Dom Pérignon champagne has been produced in 40 years. Three vintage years in a row are a rare phenomenon (which has only occurred three times: in 1969, 1970 and 1971; in 1998, 1999 and 2000; in 2002, 2003, 2004).
 
The 40 Dom Pérignon up to 2004 are: 1921, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004.
 
Since 1959 a rosé version of Dom Pérignon is also produced. 22 Dom Pérignon Rosé vintages have been produced until 2002: 1959, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002.