Champagne house Dom Pérignon has launched its Plénitude 2 vintage 2003 in Hong Kong, at a couple of prestigious locations, appropriate for the world renowned cuvée. Diners at 2 Michelin-starred restaurant Amber by chef Richard Ekkebus at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, and the 2 Michelin-starred Écriture by chef Maxime Gilbert are the first to taste the new wine.
The Champagne will also be available at partnered retailers such as Hong Kong Wine Vault, Liquid Gold, Watson’s Wine, Avize Wine Cellar, burgundy etc, ENOTECA and city’super.
For each vintage and from its inception, Dom Pérignon used to set aside a limited number of bottles in the cellars for longer maturation and declare it as Plénitude 2 or 3 when the potential is elevated.
As one of very few houses to interpret 2003, the vintage recorded a year of brutally tangible climate change. 2003 saw a combination of severe frost in the spring – resulting in the loss of 70% of potential chardonnay grape harvest from the Côte des Blancs – and a scorching August heatwave that imposed the earliest harvest in the history of Champagne since 1822.
According to the house, it took eight years for Dom Pérignon Vintage 2003 – from a press release:
“to reach its desired harmony, and a further nine years of elaboration to elevate this vintage to its second life. The elegantly bitter finish of the Vintage 2003 has elongated. The taste persists, lasting as a new saline sensation creates an even more flavourful dimension on the palate.”
After reaching the new plentitude, Vintage 2003 expresses freshness, with first a taste of dried apricot, then the candied fruitiness of raspberry and fig. Unexpectedly, the freshness of lemon verbena, white pepper, and rosemary rises for an instant, before plunging into the sultry darkness of spices and licorice root.
For more information on Dom Pérignon, head over to its official website.