The latest vintage of Dom Perignon
One of the things I love most about flying Thai First is they serve Dom Perignon. One of the things that holds Cathay Pacific First back from being the best airline I’ve flown so far is that they serve Krug.
I love Dom. It tastes like what you think champagne should taste like. Like when you were 5 and saw advertisements for champagne on TV and you imagined what it must taste like. That’s Dom.
I can’t afford Dom, but fortunately in addition to my time on Thai First, I have a few friends who can. So I was soooo excited to try the recently released 2003 vintage. I’ve been a big fan of the 2002 and its nice fruity notes. Unfortunately, the bottles have been inconsistent — when good, the 2002 is amazing, when the bottle is mediocre it’s a faint shadow of itself.
But back to the 2003. Frankly I was disappointed and I felt like I was trying to talk myself into liking it.
I know 2003 was a tough year for the grapes, and you can tell. It definitely needs time to open up post-popping. My first sips tasted nothing like Dom, and not much like champagne. It was neither tart nor tangy, and had some unidentifiable sour flavor (one of my shortcomings is rarely being able to name the flavors in wine) on the aftertaste that wasn’t really great for wine.
The tasting notes mention that it “…gradually opens up to suggest a bitter, iodised, and saline nobility.” Those are not flavors I particularly want in my champagne.
After being open awhile, it regained more of the signature Dom tang but still lagged behind my memories of 2000 and 2002. I think I’d like to try it again in 6 months when it’s had more time, but for now, save your money.
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Heels First is the travels and tribulations of two twenty-something frequent fliers jumping into the world of travel. Join Keri and Jeanne as they tackle mileage runs, elite status, and of course–the perfect travel accessories.
Just found this blog and love it. Mixes some of my favorite passions in life – fine wine and fine travel, preferably together!
Now you see this is why I am not such a big fan of DP. It is too commercial for them to skip a bad vintage. This is where the likes of Salon stand out, as if the grapes aren’t good enough, there is no vintage. And I also think the likes of Krug and Grand Siecle have the advantage of being blended vintages, so when you have a poor year they tend not to use so much of that year. Cristal used to skip bad vintages too until it became the choice of rappers around the world and now they just keep pumping it out regardless (last one they skipped was 2001)
Loving the Mendoza report. Will have to plan an Argentine escapade at some point