Description
The creative process of Dom Pérignon is subject to the restrictions of the vintage and the passing of the seasons. Dom Pérignon can therefore only be produced from the grape harvest of a single year. It must mature for no less than eight years to reach its aesthetic ideal. In the darkness of the wine cellar, each vintage slowly acquires the harmony that characterises Dom Pérignon forever through contact with the yeasts inside the bottles. Now it is complete, seamless*, tactile. For each vintage, a limited number of bottles are set aside in the cellar for a longer ageing process. During this extra time in the bottle, the wine continues to mature: in a mysterious transfer, the wine gains energy from the yeasts. It takes almost fifteen years for the champagne to reach the peak of its vitality. Now the uniqueness of Dom Pérignon is expressed more clearly than ever and unfolds in all its dimensions: It is now fuller-bodied, deeper, lingers longer and is more intense than ever. It now has an almost endless shelf life - precise, intense, powerful. "Plénitude 2 presents Dom Pérignon vintage 2002 in a new light and allows the wine to show itself in radiant gold." Vincent Chaperon, cellar master at Dom Pérignon.
The year 2002 begins with a mild winter. This was followed by a warm spring and a sunny start to the summer. August is partly rainy, but a warm, bright September soon takes over and allows the exceptional ripeness that characterises this vintage. Dom Pérignon welcomes this development in the knowledge that harmony arises from the forces of nature at work in the vineyard.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF CREATION
Each vintage is a combination of the year's yield and the spirit of Dom Pérignon. In 2002, we had to take a risk and wait until the highest sugar content of the last twenty years had been reached. We took the risk of taming this extreme character through blending and ageing in the cellar.
TIME AT WORK
A vintage champagne is like the material used by a sculptor: it is the template for a mould. In the ageing process, Dom Pérignon has developed the dense, rich material of the vintage into its aesthetic ideal. Once the balance between elevation and deepening, light and dark has been worked out, time must be allowed to take effect, which characterises the appearance of the wine and allows it to develop into a second fullness.
THE MIRACLE OF LONGEVITY
During the additional years in the cellar, the wine develops its energy. Today it offers a more complete flavour landscape. It has gained depth without losing freshness. After seventeen years of ageing, the 2002 Dom Pérignon has reached Plénitude 2 and offers a new dimension with significantly greater longevity.
THE RADIANT GOLD OF THE PLÉNITUDE
The Dom Pérignon 2002 Plénitude 2 vintage is characterised by its extensive, advanced maturity. The extremely strong, aromatic and captivating character of the wine today does not develop a triumphant power, but an obvious and true power: the power of a subtle richness, which - due to the combination of freshness and minerality - presents itself spiritualised: a light gold that is enhanced by the energy of the light. A radiant gold. This new balance transports us to a higher elsewhere, to the future of a more marvellous champagne. "The natural opulence of the 2002 grapes, transformed by the additional maturation time, becomes something spiritual." Vincent Chaperon
THE WINE READING
The contrasting climate in 2002 is characterised by relative dryness. August was generally cloudy and rainy, while September was exceptional, with impressive thundery rainfall in places. This did not seriously affect the condition of the grapes. The synergy of wind and heat contributed to the concentration of the grapes, a unique phenomenon that continued until the end of the harvest, which began on 14 September. The exceptional degree of ripeness is reminiscent of 1982 and 1990, and the almost overripe flavour of the Chardonnay grapes is the hallmark of this vintage.
THE NOSE
The complexity is initially warm, golden-brown, dazzling, oriental-exotic. Candied fruit, almond scent, sweet spices, fresh coriander. As you breathe, the saffron becomes greyer, more iodine-rich, the bouquet gradually becomes darker, more restrained, more mysterious - more peaceful and calming.
AM GAUMEN
The flavour unfolds immediately, bright, opulent and airy, energetic and sensual, always centred around the fruit. The experience becomes - in a confusing correspondence of nose and mouth - ever heavier, ever deeper. The ensemble maintains the intense, racy, salty note, slightly reminiscent of liquorice.
