TN Dom Perignon 2010

My first time with Dom Perignon, and I must say that I’m a little disappointed. I realize this is a so-so vintage, but I still had high expectations given the name (and price!).

Very light colored. Mousse is a bit course. The nose is mostly fruit: lemons and pears dominate, some lychee, pineapple type tropical fruits linger in the background. There is some breadiness though not as much as I like. Nice and refined in the mouth, mousse is pleasant and just at the right level. The body is light, acidity is high though the wine retains a roundness that keeps it from being too aggressive. There is a better balance of fruits and yeasty flavors in the mouth compared to the nose: Lemon meringue pie, pastry crust, baked pears. Complexity is in the middle, finish medium in length with mostly lemon flavors. Drinking very young, this will keep for a long time, and probably be the better for it.

As I said, I expected to be blown away. This is, after all, DOM PERIGNON… It’s definitely good, but to me, way overpriced, even with the black Friday deal I got. I’m reminded that this is, after all, a luxury item and status symbol. I mean, all fine wine is, but this even more so. It’s priced that way and I don’t think I’ll be buying more any time soon (not that it will matter one iota to Dom, they seem to have been doing fine without me).

10 Dom just isn’t very good. Try a 12 and if you don’t like that young then you can swear off Dom.

Personally, I like Dom with a good amount of age. Start with 1998 (2000?) and work backwards. It’s definitely more than the 2010 will run you but I think you will see what it can be when you add a decade or more to the bottle.

I’ve had the same first experiences with Dom too. Then I’ve came across my first few with more age (20-40 years) and my whole perception changed. Take that and add it to the fact that 2010 isn’t the best vintage and it might explain your experience. Or take my experience with the brilliant 2008. My first score was 88 pts back in 2018, 92 pts in 2019, 94 pts in 2020 and now 96 pts in 2021 (I do not rate on potential but only on what I have in the glass at the moment).

I agree with Michael and Andy. I’m not the frequent Dom drinker that others on this board are, but I’ve had it in four or five vintages and did not care for the 2010 - a 2008 Moet Grand Vintage consumer alongside it showed much better, in my opinion. I wouldn’t write off Dom based on your experience with the '10.

Perhaps with some time the '10 will show better, but based on my initial experience it’s not one that I would seek out.

02 is fabulous right now. So is the 12, though.

Agree 02 is drinking well and I’ve found 08 enjoyable as wel (even if a bit young for me).

I know I was drinking P2 so it’s not like-for-like but I found 2000 and 2003 more enjoyable today than the 2002.

I think 00 is overrated and I have a lot of it, so am happy. I think P2 is great but much tighter than regular 02. I thought at our tasting it was a bit tight but not compared to 02 Cristal LR or salon so it seemed open in comparison.

Thanks for all the responses. And I realize that a 2010 Dom is not the best example. Problem is, the ones you all recommend are so damn expensive. The '98, '02, and '08 all start around $350 according to Wine-Searcher. I’d love to try the wines you suggest, but I’m just not ready to shell out quite that much cash, and the disappointing showing of the '10 is not making me any more likely to do so.

Noah, don’t fret about this. I too had the 2010 this past weekend, it was fine, not great.

There is so much great Champagne out there, that doesn’t get the glam, the marketing budget or the cache to be Dom, and it’s a lot less expensive too. Those wines need homes.

There are multiple bottles of 08 and 12 for less than 200 on wsp.

Not really sure why you’d be surprised that the 10 was mediocre when many people have said exactly that ad nauseum over the past year.

Noah, if you want to go down the Champagne rabbit-hole (highly recommend it, btw), you can definitely do it without thinking you need to go out of your wine spending comfort zone to get Dom.

There’s some older threads about “Champagne starter packs” and other WB member’s favorites of Grower champagne and even big houses. While the WB Search function is pretty bad, you should still be able to find some of the lists. If you can’t the “What Bottle of Champagne Did you Open today” thread is huge and I think you can get some good ones from there. I’d recommend you find a good local Wine Retailer who specializes in Grower Champagne so you can try some good bottles. I’m West Coast so unfamiliar with East Coast, but I think some of the East Coast Bubble-Heads can recommend some local ones that ship to you. All my recs would be in California, which probably wouldn’t work.

I think in the past week I remember seeing Dom '10 and comments about how “non-typical” is it appear in at least 5 very popular threads on Wine Talk. Sorry you didn’t see them before buying and drinking the 2010 vintage.

With regards to the hype of Dom, I think naturally we’re all predisposed to have an expectation or feeling before trying something. That can impact our ability to appreciate something because we already have an idea that it’s supposed to be good. Dom is very popular and widely sold. It has a reputation that precedes it so only natural for anyone who first tries it to think it’ll be good. It’s okay to NOT like Dom. Personally, I would spend that type of money on different champagne.

Sorry, what’s wsp? The price I quoted of $350 came from Wine-Searcher.com with the search function set to sellers that ship to Connecticut, which is where I live. I’d love to find the wines for cheaper.

Also, I didn’t say I was surprised. I’ve never had Dom, or any of the “big names” like Krug or Salon before, and since the name is so famous, I was hoping that I would be impressed even in a mediocre vintage. But I wasn’t impressed, just mildly disappointed. Hope that clarifies.

Wine searcher pro. That is likely not accurate in terms of which stores will actually ship there. If you buy wine online wine searcher pro is essential.

I’d also be disappointed if I was expecting Dom and got veuve yellow label NV.

This is a terrific reply.

Noah, I’d be happy to give you some recs, too. I drink a lot of Champagne and while I have my Champagne swim lane that I stay in and enjoy, I am happy to share.

Please do! Feel free to either post here or direct message!

Noah, PM sent.

Agree, DP is - for me - much better with age … 18+y
and 2010 is not a top year … 2004 is quite nice now …

I haven’t had 04 in awhile but have found it overly acidic without much fruit like other 04 with the exception of comtes. 10 reminded me of that, ugh.

I think 10 became somewhat popular because several posters had hot takes on here about it being as good or better than 08.

The 2010 on NYE was my first Dom experience as well, and the wife and I were underwhelmed as many have stated here. If I tasted blind, I’d probably have this in the $50-$75 range as far as what I’d pay to get more. It is quite enjoyable as a general occasion bubbly, but not at all worth splurging on and pretty forgettable (at this price point) if not for the Dom name. I’m far from a Champagne expert and have little experience with the more highly aged stuff, but I can’t imagine this getting a whole lot better over time as it loses the bubbles, which are one of the best qualities of the wine right now. I hope I’m wrong and folks holding onto cases of it will eventually be rewarded.

I only got this in a purchase from wine dot com in which they promised a 2008 or a substitute of equal or greater value. Customer support was really helpful and immediately gave me a $100 gift card, so at least I didn’t pay the $200+ that many sell it for. Perhaps I should have pressed for more, but $100 was all the rep was authorized to give me without escalating to another manager.