2013 Dom Perignon Champagne

JS98 A driven and serious DP with aromas of chalk, biscuits, apricot stones and lemons. Some spice and dried flowers, too. So sleek and sophisticated. Elegant. Yet, it’s long and powerful, with a sharp minerality. Tight and precise.
DEC96 Silky, narrowly sculpted and serene, Dom Pérignon 2013 is a less hedonistic release than the 2012 (and less intensely energetic than the 2008), but showcases a beautiful mid-place between tension and expressiveness already. Orange-coloured fruit – apricots, mango and orange – play along with snappy lemon syrup and delicate red fruits, the palate teased into considerable detail and length with some trademark Dom Pérignon smokiness. There is immediate pleasure here, although cellaring will let some of the inner complexity unfurl, revealing this to the among the finest Dom Pérignon releases of recent times. 51% Pinot Noir, 49% Chardonnay.
WS96 Vivid acidity and a chalky underpinning make a crystalline frame for finely detailed notes of ripe melon, mandarin orange, toasted brioche and candied ginger in this harmonious Champagne, which is expressive and expansive on the palate, but with a sense of finesse and restraint. Long and creamy on the mineral-laced finish. Drink now through 2037.
WA95 Disgorged in October last year, the 2013 Dom Pérignon is a lovely wine, defined by the long, cool growing season. Offering up aromas of crisp stone fruit, tangerine oil, buttered toast, pear, almonds and clear honey, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with bright acids and a pillowy, enveloping profile, concluding with a long, saline finish. Vincent Chaperon recalls that shatter at fruit set moderated yields and that a drying east wind in the weeks before harvest helped to maintain the good sanitation necessary to wait to pick at full maturity.
Estate Notes: 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. 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.