If it were music, it would be a score in three movements. In Milan, inside the evocative Sala Fontana at the Museo del ’900, Dom Pérignon presented three new expressions of its creative language to the Italian market: Vintage 2017, Vintage 2008 – Plénitude 2 and Rosé Vintage 2010. A story we at WineCouture followed closely alongside Chef de Cave Vincent Chaperon, the voice of a vision that moves through time, matter and sensitivity. Three different vintages, one guiding thread: harmony, understood as “accord born from dissonance”, the founding principle of the Maison since its origins.
Harmony as a creative code
Dom Pérignon is, by definition, always a vintage Champagne: each cuvée is born from a single harvest, embracing its limits and challenges, even to the point of choosing not to declare the year.
This radical approach translates into a constant search for balance between opposites. Precision, intensity, minerality, complexity and tactile sensation are the sensory codes that guide Vincent Chaperon’s work.
The three vintages presented also reflect a generational and creative transition. The 2017 marks the final harvest signed by Richard Geoffroy, while 2008 represents the symbolic moment of the handover. Rosé 2010, instead, embodies a decisive step in the Maison’s push toward a more radical expressive interpretation of Pinot Noir.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017: Richard Geoffroy’s final legacy
The 2017 vintage was shaped by climatic extremes: spring frost, intense heat and late rains that encouraged botrytis. The harvest began early, on August 28, one of the earliest in the past fifty years.
The challenge was met through rigorous grape selection and a clear vision: push the maturity of Chardonnay while maintaining balance in Pinot Noir. The blend, dominated by Chardonnay, reflects a precise stylistic choice, already seen in vintages such as 1970 and 2005.
Its slow metamorphosis in the cellar required around nine years of lees aging, the time needed for the wine to fully reveal its identity. The result is a Champagne built on dual tension, between roundness and linearity, opulence and energy.
The wine unfolds like matter in motion, crossed by contrasts that resolve into a continuous vibration. Notes of petrichor, jasmine and candied citrus peel lead into a dynamic, pulsing finish where sweetness and freshness chase each other in balance.
It is Geoffroy’s final legacy: an act of courage that becomes both testimony and starting point.
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 – Plénitude 2: rediscovering a “classic”
The 2008 is considered a “classic” vintage, marked by cool weather, late ripening and a decisive September often described as a “Champagne miracle”. Yet it is in its evolution that this wine reveals its deepest nature. After around fifteen years on the lees, it reaches Plénitude 2, a stage in which the wine’s energy expands and redefines itself.
Raised to new heights, the wine opens in every dimension — broader, deeper, longer, more intense — benefiting from an almost infinite longevity. In this extended maturation, it continues to evolve like a tightrope walker in perfect balance, exploring new sensory dimensions and widening its tactile space.
The profile is generous and luminous, carried by a silky, vibrant freshness. The bouquet weaves white flowers, citrus and stone fruit, evolving toward toasted and spicy notes. On the palate, the acidic backbone meets bitter and umami sensations, building a denser, deeper, three‑dimensional structure.
“Rediscovering the Vintage 2008 in its second Plénitude, just as I prepare to introduce a new vintage in classic Champagne style, the 2024, is more than a happy coincidence: it feels like a planetary alignment,” explains Vincent Chaperon.
A vintage that becomes a bridge between past and future, between classicism and reinvention.
Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2010: selection and harmony
Rosé Vintage 2010 was born from a challenging harvest marked by extreme weather and the need for rapid decisions, as botrytis affected Pinot Noir and forced drastic grape selection.
From this difficulty emerged the wine’s strength. The parcels that were saved produced grapes of extraordinary quality — among the best of the past thirty years — capable of expressing richness, concentration and balance.
The gradual reduction of the proportion of Pinot Noir vinified in red, down to 11% in the blend, marks a decisive stylistic evolution toward greater precision and equilibrium.
Tempered by nearly 15 years of slow cellar transformation, the wine embodies a tension between light and shadow, creation and experimentation. The result is a Champagne that plays on contrasts between lightness and power, density and delicacy.
Pinot Noir, the absolute protagonist, expresses itself with new depth, while Chardonnay contributes balance and tension.
“During the weekend of September 4–5, although there was no concern anywhere in Champagne, we sensed that we might have to sacrifice part of the harvest to save the best parcels and attempt to declare the vintage,” says Vincent Chaperon. A statement that encapsulates the Dom Pérignon philosophy: embracing risk to achieve harmony.
Harmony in dialogue with Davide Oldani’s cuisine
The story of harmony found a tangible expression during the Milan presentation through the dialogue with Davide Oldani’s cuisine. For the occasion, he created a menu that reflects the Maison’s aesthetic principles: balance between opposites, tension, lightness and depth.
Each pairing is not simply a match, but a sensory extension of the Champagne. The Spooned Cuttlefish with dill aroma and pickled radishes, paired with Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017, amplifies the wine’s duality: the delicacy of the cuttlefish meets the mineral tension, while vegetal and acidic notes echo the Champagne’s fresh vibration and aromatic complexity.
With Saffron, grape pomace and Milanese rice, paired with Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2010, the focus shifts to depth and structure. The dish mirrors the richness of Pinot Noir, while the spice and color of saffron intertwine with the density and elegance of the Rosé, enhancing its sensual, tactile dimension.
The John Dory fillet with meunière sauce, shellfish and spinach, paired with Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 – Plénitude 2, explores three‑dimensionality. The structure of the dish supports the wine’s breadth, while the marine notes and buttery sauce interact with the silky freshness and umami depth of the second Plénitude, creating a dynamic, persistent balance.
Finally, the Chocolate, passion fruit and vanilla dessert closes the journey with a play of contrasts between sweetness and tension, in line with the Maison’s philosophy, where every element finds its balance through its relationship with the other.
“Vincent Chaperon and Davide Oldani share a precise vision of Harmony and of the creative process required to achieve it,” says Valeria Righetti, Senior Brand Manager of Dom Pérignon in Italy. “They both work on the accord between consonance and dissonance, finding the right balance between contrasts. Achieving Harmony is truly a timeless art form, and today we witnessed an act of mastery surrounded by the unique beauty of the Museo del ’900.”
Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017, Vintage 2008 – Plénitude 2 and Rosé Vintage 2010 distilled into the glass three moments of a journey through time, matter and vision. Three different expressions that show how, even through bold choices and extreme conditions, it is possible to remain faithful to an ideal: harmony.
