96 Points Robert Parker
The finest release of this iconic cuvée since the 1996 vintage, the 2008 Dom Pérignon wafts from the glass with an incipiently complex bouquet of Meyer lemon, green apple, dried white flowers and oyster shell, with only subtle hints of the smoky, autolytic aromas that have been such a prominent signature of recent releases. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, its notable flesh and amplitude controlled by incisive acids, with a youthfully exuberant but elegant mousse and a long, beautifully delineated finish. Considering the sheer size of this cuvée, it's a remarkable achievement and a fitting release with which to conclude Richard Geoffroy's tenure as chef de cave. Given the 2008's intensity and balance, I suspect purists will be anticipating later disgorgements with lower dosage and more time on the lees with particular enthusiasm. Tasted three times, with consistent results.
Source: Robert Parker (Robert Parker Wine Advocate) by William Kelley. January, 2019
98 Points James Halliday
Seven champagnes were submitted for this tasting at prices significantly higher than this great wine. It’s a simple outcome of supply and demand, for Dom’s production is measured in millions of bottles each year. There are often several vintages on sale, none better than this vibrant, elegant, incredibly youthful 2008.
Source: James Halliday.
97 Points Tyson Stelzer
After a grey, rainiy, old-fashioned Champagne summer, Vincent Chaperon describes the reappearance of the sun
in September as ‘the Champagne miracle’ that gave birth to this classic year. ‘The challenge for Dom Pérignon was
to reinterpret a classic,’ he explains, ‘to try to give a certain level of depth, of volume, of richness to a vintage which
is so much about tension and precison.’
Paler in colour than 2009 and any other Dom Pérignon in this decade right now, this is a vintage that the house
lists alongside 2004 as the classic vintages of the decade. It launches with tremendous velocity, ricocheting with the
crunch of grapefruit and the bitterness of preserved lemon and red apple. The rumbling exuberance of a decade
in the deep in concert with the blending mastery of the house builds deeply layered complexity of brioche, ginger,
Parisian baguette, mocha and coffee bean, contrasting with the gunpowder reduction of the Dom Pérignon style.
The cut of citrus freshness of 2008 defines a finish of energy and drive, supported by finely structured phenolic
grip. It hovers with exceptional line and length, energised and driven by the omnipresent, amplified acidity of this
great season. A Dom Pérignon of the most profound potential.
Source: Tyson Stelzer.