Inspired by Buzz, here. Popped a 2010 Dom on a whim, after a truly extraordinary day on the beach in Florida. Was perfectly sunny and 70s all day long. Did some biking, walking with the dogs, fishing and ocean paddle boarding. Seemed like a day to pop something celebratory.
Lemmon mousse pie with toasted crust, slate, match sticks and smoke on the nose. Quite full-bodied on the palate with a broad range of citrus to tropical fruits. I had a tangy barely ripe pear Martini last night- shaken, not stirred, of course - and the pear note on the Dom slammed home that memory. Definite green apple notes as well. Perhaps I spent too much time on the beach today, but very distinct oyster shell finish. Not at the level of 08 or 02, but still a very nice Dom.
All things suffer diminishing marginal utility when it comes to perceived QpR.
I enjoyed this wine too last week.
The texture alone makes this wine excellent. My boss knows we are bubbleheads so often times we get gifted champagne so our opinion on champagne is getting more dialed this year. I rated this a 94. The acidity on the 2010 was a little more restrained then other champagnes we’ve had this year which we appreciated.
I don’t entirely understand either, but I would attribute to either not fully giving the vintage a chance or to personal preference.
Dom Perignon is one of my great passions in wine. It would easily make my top 10 lists for both enjoyment and number of TNs, and it- along with Suenen- forms the backbone of the champagne section of my cellar.
And over the years I have discovered two things about Dom Perignon.
First- just as Michael Broadbent once said it takes 10 years to really see where a Bordeaux vintage is going- I think it is safe to say you need to taste Dom Perignon 2-3 times in the first 5 years after it is released to really get an idea of its long term potential. Most vintages evolve quite a bit in their first couple of years from release.
Second- I find that with Dom Perignon, as with most champagnes, that vintage has a greater impact on my personal liking than is the case with still red and white wines. I do not know why this is, but as much as I love Dom Perignon- I do not cellar it in every vintage, and I rarely cellar it in multi-case quantities. I admire most vintages- in all my experience with vintages dating back to 1964 I think only 1992 has been truly disappointing. But when it comes to really loving the wine and wanting to revisit it over and over again for 2-3 decades, those vintages are few and far between.
As for the 2010, I will readily concede it is not a “5 star year” for Dom- but still I am very fond of it. The 2010 has a lot of floral notes and is showing a lot of its subtleties now. And every time I revisit the wine, the cream textures are developing faster than expected. That puts it very much in the vein of the magnificent 1982 for me, though I do not think the 2010 will ever be as great. Instead, it is sort of a mini-1982 for me- showing well young but without quite the majesty of its greater sibling. I have a small cache in hand, and I routinely reach out to friends ITB in the hopes that magnums will be released at some point. I really think the 2010 in magnum will be a great thing to have in about 10 years time.
But that is all personal preference. I admire the 2006 and 2009 qualitatively, but I do not have a single bottle of either in my cellar because I found them too sweet. Same for the 2002. The 2002 is a spectacular Dom and one of the greatest vintages of our generation, but I far prefer the 2008 and 1996 among the “power” vintages of Dom Perignon, and while I always appreciate the chance to check in on the 2002- I do not have one single bottle of it in my cellar.
I was browsing some online retailers and it looks like the ‘08 is still shipping magnums directly from Dom. I presume they want to hold out on the 2010.
Probably because most of the market for Dom are buying the label and not the wine. They would not know one vintage from another. The 2010 showed up locally months ago and was on the shelf for $129.99 It sold through and reappeared at the same retailer a week before Christmas priced at $169.99. It was a pass for me before and it’s a pass for me now.
I can’t recall a vintage of Dom I’ve disliked as much as 2010. I have 2 bottles left of a 3 pack that I got for an extremely low price in one of the Zachy’s sales at <100 a bottle. We opened one bottle with my in-laws last winter who are certainly not wine people but still commented that it wasn’t as good as what I usually pour. I’ve had it probably 5-6 times and my impression hasn’t changed one bit. I’ll probably gift these and my remaining 04 Krug to people I don’t particularly like.
This is how I felt too when people bashing Prologue when they’re paying $50+ and I’m like oh I enjoyed it and allendale wine shop is selling it for $33.75.
(They are a champagne house that has provided grapes to Dom)
Robert, that’s fair. But my response would be that there are a lot of exciting growers making some great champagne at a fraction of the price of a mediocre Dom vintage. 2010 isn’t a great vintage, so declaring it seems…well, like playing to a crowd to whom QPR isn’t very relevant.
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