Dom Pérignon releases an excellent Vintage 2013 that brings to the fore the clarity and precision the Champagne maison is best known for.
Champagne can be a finicky product. Wine is, after all, an agricultural commodity that’s subject to the vagaries of nature. And that unpredictability is worse for a winemaking region that’s seen some nerve-wracking, mercurial growing seasons in recent decades.
But if the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 is anything to go by, 2013 for Champagne looks to be rather promising. This despite the latest drop from the Champagne maison coming from a year that again saw a difficult growing season. Both winter and spring were cold and wet, delaying vine growth. The vintage was saved by a hot and dry summer – one that was the sunniest on record in the Champagne region – that thankfully boosted growth (and subsequent quality) of both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the relief of vignerons across the region.
Which worked out for the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013.
Dom Pérignon is always an assemblage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the result here after eight years in the cellar is a harmonious expression that’s beautifully complex and balanced. Swirl your glass to unravel on the nose a medley of fresh citrus, stone fruit and summer berries, with just a hint of toasted wood spice. The palate offers much of the same – juicy mirabelle plum and apricot, zesty citrus, rounded out by some cardamom and bitter licorice – but this time comes steeled with an acid backbone and a most alluring mineral savouriness.
Most vintage champagnes at release – such as the Dom Pérignon’s earlier 2012 vintage – need more years in the bottle before they fully come into their own. This? This we want to drink right now.
“Vintage 2013 spotlights one of the fundamental aspects of our creative ambitions, namely taking the maturation time into account in our continued quest for harmony. We are proud to present this exceptional vintage, assembled and matured to achieve its distinct essence of elegant clarity, to Dom Pérignon fans and curious palates in Singapore,” says Dom Pérignon winemaker Jean-Baptiste Terlay.
The Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013 is available from Crystal Wines at the recommended retail price of S$338.
Elegant Clarity with Dom Pérignon at 28Wilkie
Looking to discover new Dom Pérignon Vintage 2013? Dom Pérignon has again partnered with one Michelin-starred contemporary Italian restaurant 28Wilkie to present a five-course champagne pairing menu that sets the newly-released 2013 edition alongside the earlier 2010 and 2012 vintages.
As with the previous collaboration, each course in the tasting menu by 28Wilkie Chef de Cuisine Seth Lai presents a different facet of Dom Pérignon as inspired by the new vintage – intensity, precision, tactile, complexity, and minerality.
‘Intensity’, for example, features cauliflower custard topped with caviar and uni that’s paired with the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2010. This is followed by ‘Precision’ of sweetbreads steeped in a most delectable broth that goes down a treat with the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2012. Then there’s ‘Tactile’, an Acquerello risotto, as well as ‘Complexity’ featuring roasted spring lamb, both of which are paired with the 2013 vintage. End off this decadent repast with ‘Minerality’, a dessert composed of apricot, forest honey, pecan, and chamomile.
The five-course tasting menu at 28Wilkie is available from 14 March to 13 June 2023, for S$468++ per pax. You can make your reservations here.
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