Dom Perignon Champagne...

Dom Perignon was born Pierre Perignon in 1640, the son of a clerk to the local judge at Saint-Menehould, a small town to the east of the Champagne region. At the age of 19 he entered the Benedictine Order at the Abbey of Saint-Vannes at Verdun. When he was just 28 he was appointed cellar master at the Abbey of Hautvillers.

Long-time rumours that Dom Perignon had heightened tasting faculties because he was blind are completely without foundation. It seems that he did have a serious problem with his vision at one stage in his life but this healed in due course.

Whilst he is often attributed with the invention of Champagne, there are earlier recorded instances of the production of sparkling wines by the Champagne method. Nevertheless he was a remarkable grape grower and winemaker and clearly well ahead of his generation. It is likely that he was the first to teach blending skills in the Champagne region and he also appears to have been the first person to successfully contain the local sparkling wine in reinforced glass bottles by sealing them with Spanish corks.

However the first recorded production of bottle fermented sparkling wine is dated a century before Dom Perignon's birth, in 1531, at the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire at Limoux in southern France. This abbey was also a Benedictine property and it may well be that Dom Perignon received some guidance from its winemaking techniques, but this is mere conjecture.

Sometime around the late 1920's, Champagne Moët et Chandon adopted his name for their new luxury or prestige Cuvée of Champagne. Helped in part by Hollywood glamour, this extremely well marketed brand has developed a widespread reputation in countries across the globe.

To taste Dom Perignon is to discover the unique spirit and style of a truly great wine of Champagne. Every stage of vineyard selection, winemaking and slow cellar ageing is, in itself, a quest for perfection. Dom Perignon is made only in exceptional vintage years from two grape varieties from the Champagne region, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The grapes are picked from the very best “crus” among the oldest and best exposed sites of the region. Chardonnay grown in Le Mont-Aigu in Chouilly, Les Buissons in Cramant and Les Joyettes in Mesnil-sur-Oger brings finesse and elegance to the wine. The grand crus of Aÿ and Bouzy, whose Pinot Noir vineyards join with those of Hautvillers Abbey, impart a degree of power and strength to the wine.