Ranked #8 of 19 2006 Chardonnay Pinot Noir from Champagne
96/100
5 Stars
Huon Hooke
A very fine Champagne, with the classic hallmarks of finesse and delicacy, with an aerial lightness and focused intensity. Lots of beautifully complex toasty bread and patisserie aromas, the palate tremendously long and refined. A beautiful Champagne.
Tasted: 19/06/2016
Drink: 2016 to 2023
96 Points Robert Parker
The 2006 Dom Pérignon comes from a very rich vintage with an early ripeness that brought a lot of aromatic maturity. The white-golden prestige cuvée contains a bit more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir and opens with a deep and seductive, pretty accessible nose with intense yet fresh fruit aromas of pineapples, with peaches and tangerines. Lively and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, unusually aromatic and fruity DP with a long and tension-filled expression. Drink 2016 - 2041.
Source: Robert Parker.
95 Points Tyson Stelzer
Immediately and unmistakably Dom, 2006 is a vintage that juxtaposes the smoky, flinty,
gunpowder and grilled toast reduction that defines Dom, with a charge of tense, strong acidity,
presented with a magnitude and generosity bolstered by a warm, dry vintage of scorching July
and summery September. In the aftermath of the season, a touch of phenolic bitterness leaves a
little firmness on the finish. A medium-straw hue proclaims its vibrancy even after 10 years, and
a flattering succulence calms and contrasts its drying grip. The rumbling exuberance of a decade
in the deep has evolved spicy, primary lemon and apple fruit into molten wax, brioche, gingernut
biscuits, even the beginnings of coffee and dark chocolate. There is an extroverted confidence to
2006 which charges Dom with a larger-than-life, room-filling personality, toned with just the
right level of acidity to keep the finish admirably determined and well defined. This is a Dom
that will stand out and turn heads, though not forever – a vintage at its finest in the short to
medium term.
Source: Tyson Stelzer.
93 Points Burghound.com
A noticeably reduced nose still manages to reveal the underlying yeast characters. This is clearly very young and tight (and particularly so in mag format) as the effervescence is fine but still quite compact and the flavors are equally backward before culminating in a powerful, focused and lingering finish. This is a vintage of Dom that is indisputably built-to-age and it's going to need plenty of it as it's not really all that pleasurable at the moment. This isn't to say no pleasure but the 2006 reminds me a bit of the 1988 at the same juncture and for those among you who remember that great wine in its youth, you'll know that it was almost 20 years before it fully blossomed. I suspect that the 2006 is going to follow a similar path in its evolution which is to say that plenty of patience is going to be required before it's fully ready. Drink to 2026.
Source: Burghound.com.