Rosé (2009)

About this wine

Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009 is a blend dominated by Pinot Noir with a significant contribution from Chardonnay, and it includes a small portion of still red Pinot Noir used for color and texture. On the nose the wine shows concentrated red fruits, ripe raspberry and wild strawberry, with blood orange and rose petal notes that lift with air. The palate is generous and creamy, framed by fine tannic grip and a tension from fresh acidity that keeps the finish focused and long. Vinification includes partial oak fermentation and extended lees aging in cellar for more than ten years before disgorgement, which contributes to the wine's layered texture and subtle brioche and spice detail. Dosage is low which preserves minerality and precision while the wine retains enough ripe fruit to feel opulent rather than lean. The 2009 vintage benefited from a warm growing season producing ripe phenolic expression in Pinot Noir, making this rosé more generous and ageworthy than some cooler years.

About the grape

Pinot Noir in the 2009 Dom Pérignon Rosé comes from Grand Cru sites in the Montagne de Reims and villages such as Aÿ, Bouzy and Hautvillers where chalky soils and careful hand harvesting give concentrated, phenolic fruit, and a portion of that Pinot Noir was vinified as a still red wine to lend color and structure to the rosé. Chardonnay supplies the vital backbone for the 2009, largely drawn from Côte des Blancs sites where chalk soils and later ripening preserve bright acidity and mineral tension, and some cuvées see portions fermented in oak to add texture. In this bottling the house blend was roughly 56 percent Pinot Noir and 44 percent Chardonnay with about 10 to 15 percent still red Pinot Noir carried over from selected parcels. Both varieties are handled with long cellar aging on the lees and low dosage to keep tension and aging potential, reflecting Dom Pérignon s practice of blending vineyard parcels and vinification styles to create a vintage signature.

Quick facts

• 🍒 The cuvée contains roughly 15 percent still red wine sourced from the Grand Cru villages of Hautvillers, Aÿ and Bouzy, which is unusual for Champagne and adds depth and color.
• ⏳ Dom Pérignon Rosé 2009 was disgorged in March 2022 with a low dosage of five grams per liter, a late disgorgement that helped develop creamy texture and tertiary notes.
• 🍇 The official blend is about 56 percent Pinot Noir and 44 percent Chardonnay, so the wine is driven by ripe red fruit while retaining bright Chardonnay lift.
• 🎎 Vincent Chaperon was the Chef de Cave behind this release and he staged high profile events such as a Kyoto masterclass to showcase the 2009 Rosé as a cultural as well as vinous statement.
• 🎡 The 2009 growing season combined a hot summer with a long cool September, giving the vintage an unusually plush, candy like fruit character that critics compared to a carnival of sweets while still promising long aging.

Palate profile

Producer

Dom Pérignon is a prestigious Champagne brand named after Dom Pierre Pérignon, a 17th-century Benedictine monk who significantly advanced winemaking techniques in the Champagne region. Appointed as the cellar master of the Abbey of Hautvillers in 1668, he pioneered methods such as blending grapes from different vineyards to enhance wine quality and introduced the use of thicker glass bottles to withstand fermentation pressure. Contrary to popular belief, he did not invent sparkling Champagne but improved its production. The first vintage of Dom Pérignon was produced in 1921 and released in 1936, establishing it as a symbol of luxury and excellence in the world of Champagne.