Dom Perignon 2013

Disgorged in October last year, the 2013 Dom Pérignon is a lovely wine, defined by the long, cool growing season. Offering up aromas of crisp stone fruit, tangerine oil, buttered toast, pear, almonds and clear honey, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and seamless, with bright acids and a pillowy, enveloping profile, concluding with a long, saline finish. Vincent Chaperon recalls that shatter at fruit set moderated yields and that a drying east wind in the weeks before harvest helped to maintain the good sanitation necessary to wait to pick at full maturity. Drink 2023-2043.

This is a bit like the 2008 in that it too is fairly closed on the nose and I would suggest taking your time with this if you're tempted to open one as it clearly improves with some air. There is enough petrol to merit pointing out on the airy and cool aromas of green apple, discreet yeast and an abundance of citrus elements, both yellow and orange. There is good volume and mid-palate density to the delicious and delineated flavors that are supported by a firm mousse where the bubbles are agreeably fine, all wrapped in a mildly austere, compact and relatively dry finale. Not surprisingly, at only 11 years of age this is pretty backward and I would be inclined to let this one continue to slumber peacefully for at least another 3 to 5 years. Drink 2028+

A bright sliver/straw color, the 2013 Dom Perignon is spritely and compact, with a pretty, if not a little reserved, aromatic profile on opening, with notes of powdery white flowers, smoky wet stone, preserved citrus, and pastry dough. Medium to full-bodied, with a peppery mousse, it has a refreshing and bright acidity that brings a pleasing tension to its otherwise more generous, juicy palate. It deserves time in cellar to open up a bit over the coming two decades.

A driven and serious DP with aromas of chalk, biscuits, apricot stones and lemons. Some spice and dried flowers, too. So sleek and sophisticated. Elegant. Yet, it’s long and powerful, with a sharp minerality. Tight and precise. Reminds me of bottles from the 1980s, such as 1988. It really takes off. Disgorged October 2021. Drinkable on release in January 2023, but better in a couple of years. A DP for the cellar.

Intense, lightly spicy nose and then on the palate very smooth-textured, gentle and lifted, with light bitterness on the finish – grapefruit peel? Some lightly vegetal notes and very long. Seamless texture and already very agreeable.

Tasted blind. Amidst a blind line-up of relatively big name champagnes (La Grande Dame 2015, Moët Grande Vintage 2015, Krug Grand Cuvée), this stood out head and shoulders above the rest. Lusty, guttural, uncompromising. Big, powerfully toasty nose! Here be fireworks. Tiny bubbles, like 3D lace running a matrix through the wine. Clementine, straw, yuzu, kumquat, sharp apples – so much fruit! And then long, hungry, lean savoury lines. Grilled sourdough toast, roasted walnuts. So much here. Very, very long and very, very persistent. This is outstanding. The bubbles are like tiny, glittering jewels stitched into silk. A seriously exciting, serious wine. For special occasions I could almost too easily be persuaded to part with £250 for a bottle of this. (TC)

Silky, narrowly sculpted and serene, Dom Pérignon 2013 is a less hedonistic release than the 2012 (and less intensely energetic than the 2008), but showcases a beautiful mid-place between tension and expressiveness already. Orange-coloured fruit – apricots, mango and orange – play along with snappy lemon syrup and delicate red fruits, the palate teased into considerable detail and length with some trademark Dom Pérignon smokiness. There is immediate pleasure here, although cellaring will let some of the inner complexity unfurl, revealing this to the among the finest Dom Pérignon releases of recent times. 51% Pinot Noir, 49% Chardonnay.