The 2013 winemaking year proved a welcome reconnection with the glorious past of late harvest vintages. After a cold, wet winter, spring was gray, quite cool and extremely rainy. The vines began budding about two weeks later than the average for the decade, a delay that lasted all the way until the harvest. The hot and dry summer was the sunniest on record in the Champagne region, proving particularly beneficial for the quality of the grapes. Rain in early September quickly ceded to easterly winds that kept the grapes healthy until they were picked. The harvest at Dom Pérignon begins on September 28. Tasting this vintage revealed a promising balance between acidic and full-bodied.

Elegant clarity
The creation of the 2013 vintage reveals the resonance between the pinots noirs and chardonnays, between acidity and fullbodied. The precise, elegant and tactile bouquet blooms in an extremely delicate powdery aromatic braid around three nuances: first citrus, then a more vegetal facet and lastly, spices. This precision reveals a simple and evident elegance where the wine, after an ethereal attack, amplifies and blossoms before ceding to an ineffable sensation of clarity.

Nose & palate
A balance between acidic & roundness
The delicate nose unfolds in swaths of color.
The green of eucalyptus, mint and vetiver, the yellow-orange of mirabelle plums, apricot and orange blossom, the brown of pepper, cardamom and licorice sticks, and finally silvery saline and toasty hues.
The mouthfeel is elegant, expressing luxuriant simplicity and precision.
The refined and silky foundation becomes more pronounced at the heart.
The finish is dominated by a salinity that leaves a deep sensation of consistency.

Food & wine pairing
For a general approach of the Vintage 2013, wine’s intensity calls upon the work of the acids to reveal its character. Can be paired in a fantastic way with acid-rich fruits or plants such as citrus fruits, green tomatoes, sorrel or rhubarb.
Going deeper into food and wine pairing, we can also make the energy and intensity of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 react with firm meaty textures combination of iodized and acidic elements.