In the 17th century, a Benedictine monk named Dom Pierre Pérignon revolutionized and improved the methods for making Champagne with his unrivaled innovations for grape growing and winemaking and is thus regarded as the father of Champagne.
Dom Pérignon exclusively makes vintage wines (both blanc and rosé) and remains fully committed to only producing Champagne in the best years.
To this day, Dom Pierre Pérignon is regarded as the spiritual father of winemaking in Champagne. During the 17th century, when the so-called golden rays of Louis XIV (the Sun King) illuminated the French court, Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk and the monastery cellar master at Hautvillers Abbey, was using the quiet time reserved for prayer and reflection to develop a wine whose extraordinary quality made him one of the great visionaries of the winemaking world.
Today, Dom Pérignon’s spirit and legacy live on in the silence and stones of Hautvillers Abbey, inspiring the generations of winemakers who follow in his footsteps.
Dom Pérignon had two ambitions for his wines: one was to increase the abbeys’ income for which wine, through the levying of tithes, was the main source. But second, and more importantly, Dom Pérignon aspired to produce the best wine in the world and wanted it to be the favorite of royalty like Louis XIV. Ultimately, he proved successful, as evidenced by court orders that show the Sun King had a profound affinity for the “straw-colored wine of Father Pérignon.”
Dom Pérignon was a perfectionist who was dedicated to creating the very best sparkling wine. He constantly improved and mastered the steps of its production, from the work in the vineyards to the pressing, clarification, and preservation of the wines. This same regard for perfection inspires and guides the Chefs de Caves today.
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 Dom Pierre Pérignon was constantly coming up with better ways to make sparkling wine and created many methods that have been put to use ever since. He was one of the very first producers to blend grapes from multiple vineyards, a method called assemblage. Assemblage is now integral to Champagne production and was developed in order to put to use all of the best qualities of the grapes from each vineyard—a whole that’s truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Dom Pérignon’s original plantings were located around the abbey, but Pérignon expanded the domaine over time. The first vineyards, planted in 1663, covered only 21 acres, but by 1715, they covered 48 acres, giving him access to more excellent grapes to choose from and improving the quality of the wine.
Dom Pérignon was also the originator of new techniques to make white wines from red grapes. This was a revolution in the production of Champagne. Until then, white wines were produced exclusively from white grapes. The technique of removing the grape juice of Pinot Noir and Meunier without allowing it to come in contact with the skins allowed Dom Perignon to retain the subtle nuances of these grapes without introducing color or tannins, making a more complex, but still delicate finished wine.
Making white wine from red grapes is complicated. The principle is that the skins have to be quickly removed from the juice, so as to not impart any color. This requires great care during harvest to gently press the grapes, releasing the juice, but not crush them, thus assuring no additional color or tannin.
Other critical and lasting innovations attributed to Dom Perignon were the reintroduction of cork as a closure and the use of stronger glass from the UK which allowed for greater consistency during the second fermentation in bottle.
These innovations spread rapidly throughout the region. Centuries later, these methods of production remain intrinsic to Champagne.
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 The house of Dom Pérignon insists on the highest quality, and unlike many Champagne houses, is committed to only producing vintage wines and only in the best years.
Each vintage is unique and presents an exciting challenge to Dom Pérignon’s winemakers in making a the ultimate expression of Champagne – that can never be repeated. The arrival of a vintage year is the happy, rare encounter of a style and a harvest. Each vintage is constructed by the Chef de Cave with the goal of presenting a range of sensations on the palate that reflect the structure, aromas and singular characteristics of the vintage.
The Dom Pérignon style displays a dynamic balance between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, freshness alongside maturity, ethereal texture and a silky, seamless finish. It is made exclusively from grapes harvested from Grand Cru vineyards and all its wines undergo substantial aging prior to being released.
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 Dom Pérignon’s Œnothèque (which means wine library) is the terrific expression of the complexity and intensity that Dom Pérignon can achieve with age.
As Dom Pérignon Champagne ages on its lees in the bottle after secondary fermentation, the wine develops in both aroma and flavor. After seven years on the lees, it has achieved the anticipated attributes of the Dom Pérignon style. This stage is referred to as the first plenitude. A second stage or plenitude is reached after 12 to 15 years of aging. The final plenitude can be reached only after more than 20 years of aging. This mature iteration, named Œnothèque is the second great expression of the house.
The 1990 Œnothèque Rosé represents the first-ever release of this bottling.
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 Dom Pérignon Rosé is the third expression of Dom Pérignon’s unique style. A delicate balancing act, this is not simply the Rosé version of Dom Pérignon Blanc, but rather the crown jewel of Dom Pérignon – impetuous yet tamed. It embodies the vivacity and vibrancy of Pinot Noir while retaining the balance essential to the Dom Pérignon style
The Chef de Cave will produce a Rosé only when the conditions are perfect. Some years see a Dom Pérignon Vintage Blanc Champagne, but no Rosé. While Dom Pérignon Blanc ages for at least 7 years, the Rosé ages on lees for 8-10 years.
The first Dom Pérignon Rosé was requested by the Shah of Iran in 1959 to be unveiled in 1971 at the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (this event was well-documented as the most prestigious party in the world.)
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