I wish you all a happy 2011! Let’s raise our glass to health, love and dreams fulfilled!
The adventure will continue here in the same spirit as in 2010, which means your participation is not only welcome, but encouraged!
Photo: Guido Mocafico (Katja Martinez Agency)
We are now past midway through the harvest, with the good news of much higher ripeness than expected, and this across the board. The sanitary conditions are good for Chardonnay, whereas there is some botrytis affecting the Pinot Noirs. However this has been so far easily handled with careful sorting of the grapes and I consider it is a non-issue. There are a few sectors left to harvest, most notably Verzenay and Mailly. I plan to give you a fuller account of the harvest once the global picture becomes clearer.
In the meanwhile I would like to introduce you to Mi-Hyun Kim, a very talented photographer with whom I have already worked a few years ago. I have invited her to Dom Pérignon to experience the 2010 harvest. She will be your guide on the blog for the next couple of weeks, sharing her thoughts and her fantastic pictures with all of us.
The harvest in the Champagne region started yesterday! This is a couple of days earlier than anticipated, due to the high and steady pace of the maturation process since véraison (only to slow down a bit following the rain of the last few days). Surprisingly enough, such a phenomenon is somewhat reminiscent of the extremely warm and sunny vintage of 2003: the outcome should be a slightly above average ripeness. The harvest at Dom Pérignon will start on the 14th with the Chardonnay sites in Avize, followed by the Pinot Noirs in Aÿ on the 16th. The sanitary conditions remain good despite some botrytis. This will easily be taken care of at the time of picking. I will keep you informed.
As I was off to the United States for a series of presentations of the 2002 vintage, I had to recollect my impressions from this wine along the years in the cellar. At first the texture and creamy, chewy mouthfeel stood out, reminding me of 1982 Dom Pérignon. However a few years later the wine had shut down a bit, making itself distant with increased density and tension, reminding me somewhat of the arrogance of our 1996. The 2002 then kept changing and evolving, though, and its personality started to shine through and assert itself, with even more complexity. Right now it has loosened considerably, starting to display opulence and fullness; it feels as rich as the 1990 Dom Pérignon, which is consistent with their comparable level of ripeness. The multifaceted character of 2002 Dom Pérignon is still difficult to grasp in full but these references to such benchmark vintages make me wonder what heights it can reach.
Richard Geoffroy, Creator and Chef de Cave of Dom Pérignon since 1990
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From @r_geoffroy of Dom Pérignon: Vintage 2003: A challenge to create http://t.co/91xDX1jV
Trireme Imports - 1 month, 1 week agoRT @TriremeImports @r_geoffroy of Dom Pérignon on Vintage 2003 http://t.co/TnlIEXeM
Jafajems - 1 month, 2 weeks agoRT @TriremeImports @r_geoffroy of Dom Pérignon on Vintage 2003 http://t.co/pUutBJxk
Fancy That - 1 month, 2 weeks agoDom Pérignon vintage 2003: a challenge to creation http://t.co/hJxxyP4e #CantWaitToTaste
Dom Perignon - 1 month, 4 weeks agoTribute to Andy Warhol | Making Dom Perignon http://t.co/U70aEBNC
PamelaGuerra - 3 months, 2 weeks ago
