Dom Perignon Brut

The 2005 Dom Pérignon is incredibly delicate, understated and silky, with gorgeous textural balance and class. Today, the 2005 comes across as a smaller-scaled version of the 2004 in that it is a Dom Pérignon built on finesse rather than the power that characterizes vintages such as 2002 and 2003. Today, the 2005 is a bit inward and not fully expressive, which is a good sign for the future. Still, given its mid-weight structure and previous showings, my impression is that the 2005 is best suited to near and medium-term drinking. Then again, Dom Pérignon has a brilliant track record for aging. Any way you look at it, though, there is little question Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy made one of the two or three Champagne of the vintage in 2005. As I have written previously, 2005 will be a very small release by Dom Pérignon standards. So much so, that the 2006 is likely to be released by the end of 2015.