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Dom Pérignon releases 2010 vintage

Published:  07 July, 2020

Dom Pérignon has released its 2010 Vintage - from a year Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon said was a “daunting challenge” due to the botrytis that attacked the Pinot Noir vines.

“We were expecting the freshness we had seen in previous years after a particularly sunny decade, but suddenly, in mid-August everything changed,” said Chaperon. 

The equivalent of two months of rain fell in just two days and with the heat and water, maturation was fast, he added. “And then botrytis hit.”

Until the weekend of 4 and 5 September, no-one in Champagne had any concerns, he said, but “then we suddenly realised we would have to make huge sacrifices with part of the harvest in order to save the best parcels and try to make a Dom Pérignon vintage”.

“It became a race against the clock. The grapes were not yet fully ripe, so we put all our resources into mapping the vineyards by the health and maturity of each parcel. 

“This meant we could clearly evaluate the situation and work to save the excellent plots of Pinot Noir that we did have. But every minute counted.”

Chaperon said the viticultural team had focused exclusively on the grapes that the botrytis had spared.

“Each day, specific parcels were selected and the grapes meticulously sorted based on our on-the-spot observations and our innate knowledge of the terroir,” he said.

“We found that the Pinot Noir grapes we saved were absolutely glorious, echoing the quality of the Chardonnay, which had benefited from a complete maturation. They showed richness, concentration and balance and were actually the best in the last 30 years.”

Dom Pérignon 2010 was a “bold wager, the fruit of our unwavering commitment to expressing nature”, he added. “But it is a wager that has been won thanks to inspiration and to the mastery that comes from experience.”

Pre-sale of the Dom Pérignon 2010 is available from Clos 19 now (rrp: £152).




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