2008 Champagne Dom Pérignon, P2, Brut

The 2008 Dom Pérignon P2 is another sublime Champagne from Dom Pérignon. Long lees-aging on the cork softened the edges that the original 2008 release showed as a young Champagne. The two 2008s (original release and P2) paint two very different but equally compelling potraits of the vintage. The P2 possesses notable textural density and a level of mid-palate intensity that the 2008 does not offer. The P2 is not necessarily better than the original release, but it is quite contrasting in style. It may be that in a very high-quality vintage, extended time in bottle does not add as much as it does in slightly lesser years.

Magical, showing floral perfumes of jasmine, lavender and orange blossoms. The wonderful center palate has medium body and a depth of fruit that goes on for minutes. Dried apples, limes and flowers. Oyster shell and umami. This has developed beautifully with 16 years on the lees. Stunning. Dosage 4.5 g/L. Drink now.

This late-release version of the magnificent 2008 is to be put on the market commercially in 2026. Disgorged in 2024 with a dosage of less than 5 g/l – like all four of these 2026 releases. A famous 'classic' vintage. The product of a season that saw cloudy weather for much of it with considerable mildew pressure. Then there was a great September that saved the vintage – a Champagne miracle. A sunny last three weeks changed the mood in Champagne. 'Climate change has been giving more flesh and length to the wines', according to Vincent Chaperon who said that he and the then chef de cave Richard Geoffroy used to liken this wine's muscle to the athlete Usain Bolt.

Greenish hue. Very concentrated and evolved, lightly smoky and creates an immediate impression. Dry, serious finish. Extremely tight bead. Very bright fruit. Citrus, even lime. A wine that is tightening up, a bit like a drawstring with tension – like when a bow is drawn back by an arrow. A very grown-up Dom Pérignon.

A wine I’m inclined to call “long-range,” the 2008 Dom Pérignon Plénitude 2—an equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, disgorged in March 2024 with a dosage of five grams per liter—has fulfilled its considerable promise. Born of a cool, slow-ripening season that endowed the wine with its incisive acid spine and raciness, perfected through the selection of origins that contribute the texture and plenitude only real maturity can impart, it wafts from the glass with aromas of orange, nashi pear, honeysuckle and toasted hazelnut, mingling with brioche and a touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, it is full-bodied, multifaceted and vividly bright, with a layered, concentrated core of fruit, its ripe yet racy acids and pinpoint mousse carrying it to a long, searingly chalky finish.

If the 1996 Plénitude 2 was a success at Dom Pérignon, then the 2008 Plénitude 2 appears to surpass that, ranking among the greatest achievements of Richard Geoffroy, the house’s former cellar master. All in all, it is more energetic and incisive than the 2002 Plénitude 2 was on release, and anyone fortunate enough to secure a bottle will have no difficulty finishing it.

The extra seven years of ageing on lees under cork versus the original Dom Pérignon 2008 release has wrapped up all the year's innate tension and brightness in an unabashedly decadent, enveloping richnnes of toasted nuts, fresh dough and gentle oyster cream, although the precision and integrity of the vintage is absolutely present, too. There are beautiful aromas of pure red strawberry and bergamot with some darker mocha notes emerging, both Chardonnay linearity and a surprisingly fragrant Pinot finding a perfect equilibrium. The palate carries the buzzing acidity of 2008 on a time-softened, ultra-silky mousse, with new details of umami savour tucked in subtly to the overall impression of glacial freshness. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the reputation of the original release, this is among the most memorable and energetic of the Plénitude releases made since the programme of late releases took the name in 2014.