1. Did Dom Pérignon really invent champagne?

We have already hinted at it: Dom Pérignon did not invent champagne. However, this legend still persists. In fact, there are several theories about the invention of champagne - and the Benedictine monk has nothing to do with it. In the 17th century, wines from Champagne were transported by ship to England in small wooden barrels. The English then bottled the still wine in bottles that were robust by the standards of the time and corked them. The first theory is that the wines were not yet fully fermented and continued this process in the bottle. Voilà: the carbon dioxide could not escape and you had a sparkling wine. In the second theory, the English deliberately added sugar and a few spices to the bottle. Because that's how wine was drunk back then. The effect was identical: thanks to a second fermentation, the wine in the glass was sparkling.

2. Who was Dom Pérignon in real life?

In fact, not much is known about Pierre Pérignon before he joined the Benedictine order. He was born around 1638 in the small Marne village of Sainte-Menehould - making him a true child of Champagne. There is no record of when he became a Benedictine monk. What is certain, however, is that Dom Pérignon was cellarer of Hautvillers Abbey from 1668. This meant that he was more or less responsible for the financial upkeep of the monastery as the main source of income was wine production. His work as cellar master made up the largest part of his job. However, he did not work alone, but had Brother Jean Oudart from Saint-Pierre Abbey in Monte de Châlons at his side. The two monks developed all the merits for which Dom Pérignon alone is known today together. But Dom Oudart was never given the credits and there is no champagne named after him either. So he fell into oblivion, while Dom Pérignon only became a legend many decades after his death on 14 September 1715

3. What achievements can be attributed to Dom Pérignon?

Dom Pérignon may not have invented champagne, but he nevertheless contributed a great deal to the oenological progress of his time. For example, he realised that a wine tastes more intense and better if you reduce the yield on the vine beforehand. And the flavour! He improved this by blending different grape varieties together. He is therefore considered the father of assemblage. Once he had come to terms with the fact that a wine could also sparkle, he sealed the bottles with a cork, which he secured to the neck of the bottle with a cord. In doing so, he virtually invented the forerunner of the agraffe.

He was also the first to store wine bottles in the chalk corridors of the monastery because he had found that they matured better there. It is also thanks to him that to this day, sparkling wines are bottled in thicker bottles all over the world so that they can withstand the higher pressure. The bottle volume of 0.75 litres is also said to go back to Dom Pérignon. He observed the drinking habits of his fellow brothers and came to the conclusion that 0.75 litres was the average amount of wine consumed at dinner. Per person, of course.

4. How did Dom Pérignon become a champagne brand?

Shortly after the French Revolution (1789 to 1799), Jean-Remy Moët bought the former Hautvillers Abbey - Dom Pérignon's former place of work. Moët produced the champagne here that Napoleon Bonaparte loved so much. But it was simply called Moët. The idea of making a champagne with the name Dom Pérignon only came about in the late 1920s, when it became clear that the Maison wanted to bring out a champagne that the world had never seen before. The quality was that good. There was just one problem: the Mercier champagne house had already secured the Dom Pérignon brand name a few years earlier, but had never used it. In 1930, Moët bought the rights to the name from Mercier (and then the Maison itself a few decades later). However, it would be another six years before the first champagne with the name Dom Pérignon was produced ...

5. Why is Dom Pérignon Champagne so historically significant?

When the first Dom Pérignon was launched in 1936, the wine world was astonished. The world had never seen a champagne like it! Such perfect balance and harmony! And then the flavour! This amazement was more than justified, as only the best grapes from the best vineyards were used for this champagne. The speciality: It was only to be produced in exceptionally good years. The grapes for the very first vintage came from 1921, which was another speciality. Such a long period of ageing in the bottle had never been seen before in Champagne. This made Dom Pérignon the very first prestige champagne.

Fun fact: The first vintage, as well as its successors from 1926, 1928, 1929 and 1934, were produced using the transvasé method. Instead of disgorging each individual bottle, the finished sparkling wine was poured into a pressurised tank and the yeast was filtered out before the champagne was bottled again. It was not until 1943 that Moët & Chandon switched to the traditional method. It was also only then that the champagne was given its own cuvée. Until then, the best grapes from the best vineyards were used, but the assemblage was identical to the standard champagne. Now, however, its flavour was extremely different from all other sparkling wines from Moët et Chandon. For this reason, the addition "Moët & Chandon" was removed from the label so that Dom Pérignon was a prestige champagne in its own right. And it became known worldwide in the mid-1950s when none other than James Bond sipped it in the 007 films.

6. How is Dom Pérignon produced?

In general, a Dom Pérignon is always a cuvée of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. As a rule, the proportion of Chardonnay is slightly higher, but this can vary from year to year. The grapes come from their own vineyards, but also from purchased grapes. Either way, the grapes always come from the same plots, which extend over nine municipalities. For Chardonnay, these are Chouilly, Cramant, Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs. The Pinot Noir, meanwhile, comes from Aÿ, Bouzy, Mailly-Champagne, Verzenay and Hautvillers in the Marne Valley.

During vinification, the cellar master, also known as the chef de cave, takes great care to ensure that the must and wine come into contact with as little oxygen as possible in order to guarantee the reductive style for which Dom Pérignon is so famous. This allows the champagne to mature for a particularly long time. The speciality is actually the long storage on the lees after the second fermentation. A Dom Pérignon matures "sur latte" for at least seven years. As a rule, however, this minimum period is always exceeded by many, many months. Nine or ten years are not uncommon!

8. What does Dom Pérignon taste like?

In fact, there is no such thing as THE Dom Pérignon flavour. After all, each vintage should reflect its own character. But what all vintages of this prestige cuvée have in common is their enormous ageing potential. Thanks to the reductive vinification, this champagne can mature for a small eternity. When young, it is often dominated by hints of lemon, apple, peach, pear and, of course, brioche - paired with a mineral chalky note. If you have a mature Dom Pérignon in your glass, honey notes and an impressive depth are added. And then, of course, there are the characteristics of the respective vintage. But there is one thing a Dom Pérignon is always: impressively elegant.

9. Is there only the white Dom Pérignon Vintage?

We've already hinted at it. Of course, the portfolio goes beyond the prestige cuvée. But there's no doubt that it's the absolute favourite. A rosé version forms the counterpart to the white champagne, so to speak. And of course it is also only available as a vintage. We have already mentioned Dom Pérignon Oenothèque. Created by Richard Geoffroy, the decisive difference here was even longer ageing on the lees. The house has since renamed the Oenothèque Plénitude 2. Colloquially, the wine world calls this champagne "P2". Here, 15 years is now obligatory. And then there is Plénitude 3 - also known as "P3" - the top of the top, so to speak. Here we are dealing with a yeast ageing period of between 30 and 40 years. And yes, both "P2" and "P3" are ultra-rare.