2008 Dom Perignon Legacy Edition
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Tasting notes
This is a limited edition launched in late 2018 to celebrate the retirement of Richard Geoffroy. The ‘regular’ 2008 will be released early in 2019 and is exactly the same cuvée disgorged a little bit later. So much more austere than the 2009, and really, really dense! The acidity is so much more obvious and there’s so much packed in there. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Simon Field MW, Decanter
More reviews and scores
50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 100% grands and premier crus. Aged for nine years on the lees. Dosage 4 g/l. Tasted blind. Spicy, flirtatious nose. Then pretty muscular and athletic. Tight and almost floral. I could drink this now! Edgy creaminess that’s typical of Dom Pérignon. Very clean and fresh. Textured and chewy. Really kerpow! Pungent. 2008?
2008 is described as a ‘miracle’ year by Vincent Chaperon: everything looked set to go wrong and yet it all ended up flirting with perfection. It’s that tension thing again. He maintains that 2008 actually has more flesh than 1996 but doesn't completely dismiss the comparison. The 2008 is more athletic, he thinks, without revealing in which discipline. A suspicion of reduction blows off quickly to reveal notes of flowers, citric fruit and a fine filigree of self-belief. It's long, chalky and linear. A magnificently confident introvert, if such a thing is possible. The Legacy Edition was released to celebrate Geoffroy's time at Dom Pérignon, to be followed by a regular bottling this year which will have had a few extra months on lees.
The 2008 Dom Pérignon is the first time the estate has released a wine out of order (the 2009 was released before the 2008) but the estate loved the wine so much they felt it warranted additional aging. This is a rich, powerful wine that still shows incredible purity and elegance, with a stacked, concentrated feel on the palate. It’s rare to find such a mix of ripe, pure, concentrated fruit paired with this level of purity, focus, and precision. This is a legendary Dom that surpasses all the great vintages of Dom I have experience with, including the 1990, 1996, and 2002.
About the producer
Dom Pérignon is one of the most highly regarded and well-known Champagnes in the world. The first and original prestige cuvée Champagne, it is today owned by LVMH.