TN Dom Perignon 2010

[A_d_a_m_Mintz]

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.

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.

FM3 is definitely one of the WB Bubbleheads I follow. He posts incredible CT notes and our palates are similar with more appreciation to Champagne with little to no dosage, like Marie Courtin.

[MChang]

FYI 10 is one of the worst champagne vintages in decades. Most producers didn’t make a 10 vintage and those that did weren’t very good with the exception of Vilmart CDC. As I said earlier, the 10 Dom is mediocre, at best.

Saying you don’t like Dom because you had the 10 is like saying you don’t like Burgundy after only trying 04.

[Brent_S]

Ah, another 2010 Dom is no good thread. Love it

[Michael_S_Monie]

It’s sad that so many are having their initial Dom experience with the 2010. But the possibility of being underwhelmed is not limited to mediocre vintages. As I said recently in another thread, I was underwhelmed by the 2002 on release, but trusted the strength of the vintage which turned out well. When I tasted the 2008 on release, I recognized the quality even though it was quite primary. Haven’t had the 2012 but Michael drinks a lot of high end Champagne and if he says it’s delicious I believe him. But as others have said: the real Dom experience comes from a strong vintage, held for a decade or two.

[D_Zurcher]

Having a few bottles of 2010 Dom on hand, I really need to stop opening these threads, and there are a lot of them .

[Kirk.Grant]

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).

For me, Dom Perignon is most impressive once it’s about 20-25 years old. In it’s youth, it’s enjoyable, but I agree that lots of young Champagne is rarely worth the tariff immediately on release. Even a few years in bottle can help…but I’d suggest tasting an older bottle first before you write off Dom Perignon.