In a year marked by alternating extremes, Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 reconnects with a glorious legacy of late harvest vintages. This exception – coming in the middle of two decades of early harvests, interrupted only by the 2004 vintage – spotlights one of the fundamental aspects of the creative act at Dom Pérignon, namely taking the maturation time into account in the quest for harmony.
The vision of the Chef de Cave and his expert skill in integrating the specific elements of each year, led him to imagine and anticipate the effects the work of time would have. And now, after some ten years of maturation on the lees, the experience of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 reveals the limpid and evident lines of a harmony sculpted by time: the elegance of clarity.
Dom Pérignon’s creative ambition is a perpetual quest for captivating harmony, a quest pursued with aesthetic and sensory values: precision, intensity, tactile sensation, minerality, complexity, completeness and a distinctive way of sustaining notes.
Every creative process faces constraints. For Dom Pérignon this means always a vintage wine. An unyielding commitment to bear witness to the harvest of a single year, whatever the challenges, even going as far as not declaring a vintage.
Time is part of the Dom Pérignon equation. The time for active maturation on the lees in the darkness of the cellars, allowing each vintage to reveal itself. For Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013, this slow metamorphosis required nearly ten years.
A LATE VINTAGE
At the outset of 2013, the vineyards were subjected to a cold, wet winter, followed by an especially rainy spring. The vines were two weeks behind right from the beginning of the plant life cycle, and never made up this delay. The buds appeared late and the vines did not bloom until the end of July, interfering with the formation of grape clusters.
These long months marked by an excess of water were followed by one of the hottest and driest summers in the last two decades, once again impeding the metabolism of the vines. Then September brought more heavy rainfall, followed by easterly winds that miraculously kept the grapes healthy until they were picked. The harvest began on September 28 and lasted until October 15. Tasting the grapes revealed a promising balance between a good full-bodied taste thanks to the summery weather, and an acidity typical of late harvest vintages.
PRECISE PINOTS NOIRS AND SPLENDID CHARDONNAYS
The impact of two expanses of excessive rainfall with a period of drought in between varied according to the specific terroir. Most of the vineyards benefit from chalky soils, which act as a buffer for the water, and Dom Pérignon’s grands crus and premiers crus vineyards were spared.The chardonnays from the Côte des Blancs thus revealed their full splendor, expressing the pure elegance that characterizes this grape.More restrained, the pinots noirs from the Montagne de Reims have a precise acidity and a distinct firmness that contribute gentle authority.
ASSEMBLE AND ANTICIPATE THE EFFECT OF TIME
Vintage 2013 thus highlights the dual dimension of Dom Pérignon’s creative efforts.
The first is assembling the complementary and opposing aspects of 2013, namely full-bodied and acidity. Here, the creative element lies in revealing their resonance, establishing a dialogue that elevates the balance of the different flavors. Sculpting these contrasts is what precisely constructs the perspective of the 2013 assemblage.
At the same time, this assemblage is based on a second and equally important facet of creativity: its profoundly projective dimension. Like a sculptor or diamond cutter who perceives the driving force in a block of marble or a rough gemstone, after first perhaps envisioning the future statue or piece of jewelry, the creator of Dom Pérignon anticipates the work of maturation and assesses the effect of the time ahead on the harmonization of the assemblage. And this constitutes the second realm of his art.
The result is there. An assemblage that, with nearly ten years of maturation, brings us the essence of 2013: the elegance, the delicacy, the absolute classicism of this new Vintage Dom Pérignon.
ELEGANT CLARITY
The creation of the 2013 vintage reveals the resonance between the pinots noirs and chardonnays, between acidity and full- bodied. The precise, elegant and tactile bouquet blooms in an extremely delicate powdery aromatic braid around three nuances: first citrus, then a more vegetal facet and lastly, spices. This precision reveals a simple and evident elegance where the wine, after an ethereal attack, amplifies and blossoms before ceding to an ineffable sensation of clarity.
SEASONS
The 2013 winemaking year proved a welcome reconnection with the glorious legacy of late harvest vintages. After a cold, wet winter, spring was gray, quite cool and extremely rainy. The vines began budding about two weeks later than the average for the decade, a delay that lasted all the way until the harvest. The hot and dry summer was the sunniest on record in the Champagne region, proving particularly beneficial for the quality of the grapes. Rain in early September quickly ceded to easterly winds that kept the grapes healthy until they were picked. The harvest at Dom Pérignon ran from September 28 to October 15. Tasting the fruit revealed a promising balance between acidic and full-bodied.
NOSE
The delicate nose unfolds in swaths of color. The green of eucalyptus, mint and vetiver, the yellow-orange of mirabelle plums, apricot and orange blossom, the brown of pepper, cardamom and licorice sticks, and finally silvery saline and toasty hues.
PALATE
The mouthfeel is elegant, expressing luxuriant simplicity and precision. The attack is enveloping and ethereal. The refined and silky foundation becomes more pronounced at the heart. The finish is dominated by a salinity that leaves a deep sensation of consistency.
