This deep golden colored 1976 dom Perignon survived the 47 years of aging in the unsealed box. Aroma was caramel as soon as the bottle was opened. A slight smell of old pipes as the wine was poured. Butterscotch was the next predominant bouquet. At first taste, butterscotch and caramel married perfectly together. The wine had to open a bit to allow the must aroma to dissipate. Then the flavor profile had multiple complex phases, including vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, mushroom, dried apricot, fig, and crabapple. The finish exposed honey and almond flavors. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with this gift from my father 40+ years ago.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dom Perignon 1959-2012: Ten wines, eight DPs plus a 2002 P2 vs Moet Collection match-up. A superb tasting. All five 40+ years old DPs showed lively, complex, balanced and intellectually as well as hedonistically appealing. Best wine was the 1976 (97pts) which needed air to blow of some faulty/oxidation notes and reveal all its glorious complexity and freshness. Just a step behind (all 96pts) the hyper complex 1959, an almost young-ish 1975, and the still tight but incredibly fine and promising P2. An odd-ball 1980 (95pts), likely a special bottling with higher dosage, showed like a Piper Heidsieck Rare on steroids. The only disappointments were the very slightly corked 2003 (but showed superb substance underneath) and a badly corked 1990.
TN: Intense, expressive nose full of tension with lots of nutty notes, citrus, herbs, minerality, tiny hints of oxidation notes. On the palate this shows superb with so much tension and freshness, still some fine mousse. Quite intense toasty and yellow fruit aromas along some minerality. Just tiny hints of oxidation notes at first which luckily disappear completely with time. In addition, the wine gained a lot of complexity, mit palate weight and tension. A fantastic showing which needed a air to fully shine. In the end and with the last sips, this was clearly the most complete wine combining complexity, purity of aromas, finesse, and tension perfectly.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dom Pérignon through Decades: Matter of Taste Masterclass “Dom Pérignon through Decades”. Impressive demonstration of the longevity of Dom Pérignon 1959-2012 with most still decent if not great shape. However, I did prefer the linearity of more recent vintages (2012, 2003) and consequently the wine of the tasting was also the straightest of them all which was the 2002 P2. Of the older vintages 1980 and 1975 were drinking best in my view. More snippets on history, fun facts and wine list included in the tasting story.
Tasting note: This was apparently from a special bottle with a market-specific dosage (more sugar than regular disgorgement) which is something Dom Pérignon used to do until 1985 as a means of catering to local market needs. William explained this was the driest vintage until 1982 in the Champagne. Bruised pear fruit with fine brioche notes. Initially muted, but gaining intensity over time. Still fresh palate, but structurally felt a bit weak. Given the reputation of the vintage and considering accounts of fellow tasters at the table this was probably not the best bottle out there.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Piemonte: Back to the truffling!; 11/24/2022-12/3/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Had originally brought to share with Luca and Elena from Vietti but they had to go to Rome and so we had an extra lovely bottle to pop for afternoon bonus bubbles. This was drinking really incredibly well. Everything that I love about old champagne with all of the depth and character and yet still some faint hint of bubbles to it which you often don’t find when you get quite this old. Truly delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.
11/16/2023 - hprphf wrote: 93 Points
Premier Cru Table (The Fifth Avenue Hotel): Next to 76 Krug. Riper and smaller in structure, showing more aged character. 93
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/1/2023 - Weaverschmitz wrote:
This deep golden colored 1976 dom Perignon survived the 47 years of aging in the unsealed box. Aroma was caramel as soon as the bottle was opened. A slight smell of old pipes as the wine was poured. Butterscotch was the next predominant bouquet. At first taste, butterscotch and caramel married perfectly together. The wine had to open a bit to allow the must aroma to dissipate. Then the flavor profile had multiple complex phases, including vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, mushroom, dried apricot, fig, and crabapple. The finish exposed honey and almond flavors. We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with this gift from my father 40+ years ago.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/18/2023 - Cailles wrote: 97 Points
Dom Perignon 1959-2012: Ten wines, eight DPs plus a 2002 P2 vs Moet Collection match-up. A superb tasting. All five 40+ years old DPs showed lively, complex, balanced and intellectually as well as hedonistically appealing. Best wine was the 1976 (97pts) which needed air to blow of some faulty/oxidation notes and reveal all its glorious complexity and freshness. Just a step behind (all 96pts) the hyper complex 1959, an almost young-ish 1975, and the still tight but incredibly fine and promising P2. An odd-ball 1980 (95pts), likely a special bottling with higher dosage, showed like a Piper Heidsieck Rare on steroids. The only disappointments were the very slightly corked 2003 (but showed superb substance underneath) and a badly corked 1990.
TN: Intense, expressive nose full of tension with lots of nutty notes, citrus, herbs, minerality, tiny hints of oxidation notes. On the palate this shows superb with so much tension and freshness, still some fine mousse. Quite intense toasty and yellow fruit aromas along some minerality. Just tiny hints of oxidation notes at first which luckily disappear completely with time. In addition, the wine gained a lot of complexity, mit palate weight and tension. A fantastic showing which needed a air to fully shine. In the end and with the last sips, this was clearly the most complete wine combining complexity, purity of aromas, finesse, and tension perfectly.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/12/2023 - sirpat00 wrote: 91 Points
Dom Pérignon through Decades: Matter of Taste Masterclass “Dom Pérignon through Decades”. Impressive demonstration of the longevity of Dom Pérignon 1959-2012 with most still decent if not great shape. However, I did prefer the linearity of more recent vintages (2012, 2003) and consequently the wine of the tasting was also the straightest of them all which was the 2002 P2. Of the older vintages 1980 and 1975 were drinking best in my view. More snippets on history, fun facts and wine list included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
This was apparently from a special bottle with a market-specific dosage (more sugar than regular disgorgement) which is something Dom Pérignon used to do until 1985 as a means of catering to local market needs. William explained this was the driest vintage until 1982 in the Champagne. Bruised pear fruit with fine brioche notes. Initially muted, but gaining intensity over time. Still fresh palate, but structurally felt a bit weak. Given the reputation of the vintage and considering accounts of fellow tasters at the table this was probably not the best bottle out there.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/28/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Piemonte: Back to the truffling!; 11/24/2022-12/3/2022 (Wineries and various restaurants): Had originally brought to share with Luca and Elena from Vietti but they had to go to Rome and so we had an extra lovely bottle to pop for afternoon bonus bubbles. This was drinking really incredibly well. Everything that I love about old champagne with all of the depth and character and yet still some faint hint of bubbles to it which you often don’t find when you get quite this old. Truly delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment