After a year marked by a succession of extremes, Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 reconnects with the glorious past of late vintages. This exceptional vintage – within two decades of early harvests interrupted by the 2004 vintage – highlights one of the fundamental aspects of the creative process at Dom Pérignon: the consideration of the effects of time and maturation in the pursuit of harmony.
The Chef de Cave’s vision and mastery in integrating the specificities of each vintage year have led to the anticipation of the effects of time. After a decade of maturation on the lees, the experience of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 reveals today the clear and unmistakable line of a harmony sculpted by time: the elegance of refinement. This is the epitome of luxury.
Dom Pérignon embodies a creative ambition driven by an unwavering pursuit of striking harmony. Its aesthetic and sensory values are meticulously crafted: precision, intensity, tactility, minerality, complexity, and completeness, all carefully orchestrated to create a lasting impression.
Every creative process comes with its constraints. For Dom Pérignon, it is the challenge of the vintage. A steadfast commitment to bearing witness to a single year’s harvest, regardless of the difficulties that may arise, even if it means not declaring a vintage.
Time is an essential element in the Dom Pérignon equation. Through active maturation on the lees, in the darkness of the cellars, every vintage is revealed in due time. For Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013, this slow metamorphosis required nearly a decade of patient waiting, resulting in an exceptional and luxurious experience.
2013: A late vintage
At the beginning of 2013, the vineyard was subjected to a cold and damp winter followed by a stormy spring. The buds appeared late, the flowers only bloomed at the end of July, and the formation of the grape clusters was disrupted. The vine, therefore, started its vegetative cycle with a 15-day delay that it never managed to catch up.
After months of excess water, a sweltering and dry summer followed one of the hottest and driest in the past two decades. Once again, the vine’s metabolism was hindered. It was not until September, when heavy rains were followed by east winds, that miraculously preserved the grapes’ health until the harvest. Exceptionally early in the season, the harvest began on September 28th and continued until October 15th. The tasting of the grapes revealed an excellent balance between a beautiful roundness due to the summer conditions and an acidity characteristic of late vintages. This balance sets the stage for an exceptional and luxurious experience.
The elegant and generous play between Pinot noirs and Chardonnays
The two periods of excessive water surrounding a drought did not have the same impact on different terroirs. Most of the vineyards of Dom Pérignon’s grand crus and premiers crus were spared, benefiting from chalky soils that act as a buffer against water. As a result, the chardonnays of the Côte des Blancs reveal their full splendour, bringing the delicate and refined elegance characteristic of the grape variety. The pinot noirs of the Montagne de Reims are more restrained, bringing precision, a form of firmness, and a gentle authority through their acidity.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013: state of the art
The Vintage 2013 highlights the dual dimension of Dom Pérignon’s creative work. The first consists of blending the complements and opposites of 2013, namely roundness and acidity. The contribution of creation here lies in their resonance and dialogue to sublimate the balance of different flavours. The precise chiselling of these contrasts builds the perspective line of the 2013 blend. But this blend also relies on another facet of creation: its deeply projective dimension. Like a sculptor or a diamond cutter who sees in the block of marble or raw stone the lines of force of the material, but perhaps first the future work, statue or jewellery, the creator of Dom Pérignon anticipates the creation of maturation, assesses the effect of time to come on the harmonization of the blend. Second, it is the driving force of his art. Result. A blend that, with nearly ten years of maturation, brings us to the essence of 2013: the elegance, delicacy, and absolute classicism of this new Dom Pérignon Vintage.
According to Vincent Chaperon, Chef de Cave at Dom Pérignon, The “nez” is delicate and reveals itself with colourful facets of green: eucalyptus, mint, and vetiver. The orange-yellow of mirabelle plum, apricot, and orange blossom rounds up our gustative story. The brown pepper, cardamom, and liquorice stick bring verticality to the taste. Finally, we can experiment with silvery notes of iodine and grilled undertones. The palate of this wine is characterized by its elegant yet precise nature. The initial incursion is both enveloping and airy, setting the stage for the fine and silky structure of the wine to be amplified. The finish is marked by a saline sensation that carries through to the end, revealing a deep and coherent expression of the wine’s terroir.
Once again, Dom Pérignon is the ultimate master of vintage champagne. This new vintage illustrates the hard work in trying to get the very best of what nature can offer. The Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 is simply and purely an outstanding champagne that tells a beautiful, elegant story of the Champagne region.
José Amorim
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