Dom Pérignon P2
The bottle from this house in which lees aging takes center stage. An average of around eight years in contact with the yeast cells produces a champagne that is not fruitier, but spicier, woodier and much longer.
What years on the lees do to a champagne
After the second fermentation, a champagne remains in the bottle on the yeast cells that did the work. The longer this lasts, the more the wine changes: young fruit gives way to bread, nuts and roasted notes, and the bubbles become finer. P2 is the bottle from this house in which that process is most apparent on the palate. It spends an average of around eight years on the lees before leaving the cellar, and you don't hear that in figures but taste it on the palate: plenty of length, no rush.
In the glass, it remains unmistakably Dom Pérignon. The grapes are pinot noir and chardonnay, the alcohol content is 12.5% as with all bottles from the house, and here too, only vintage champagne is produced. The 2008 vintage is the version currently being served; once it runs out, another vintage will take its place, with its own character. The house does not disclose the blend percentages for this bottle, so neither do we.
In brief
White flowers, mint and roasted notes
Bright and complex
White flowers, citrus and stone fruit form the top layer, with anise and rubbed mint running through it. It smells bright throughout, never heavy.
Spicy and woody
Under that fresh beginning, spicy, woody and roasted notes emerge. This is the part that comes from the long aging and sets this bottle apart.
Especially long
The roasted side lingers and gives the wine plenty of length. You don't need two sips to know that time has gone into it.
Flavor profile of the P2 neat, at 8 to 10 degrees. The colder you pour it, the more the spicy and roasted side hides.
This is how you pour a long-aged champagne
Chill to 8 to 10 degrees and choose the upper end of that range. Serving it ice-cold puts the fresh notes first and suppresses precisely the tones this bottle has spent years developing.
Give the nose room
Pour approximately 10 cl into a tulip glass or a white wine glass and fill it to two-thirds. Let the glass stand for a few minutes before the first sip; the spicy and toasty notes only emerge then.
To the glasses →With shellfish and crustaceans
With this bottle, shellfish and crustaceans are mentioned as a pairing. Pour a little more per glass, and do not put the bottle in a bucket with ice only, but in water with ice so the temperature stays stable.
More about champagne →Open it without a pop
Hold the bottle at an angle, turn the bottle rather than the cork, and let the cork give way with a sigh. This way, you lose no mousse and the fine bubbles stay in the glass instead of ending up on the tablecloth.
Bar tools →Cocktails with champagne
Serve this bottle on its own. Years of aging on lees disappear completely beneath liqueur, gin, or juice, so the classics below call for a simpler brut. Good to know what goes into them, not a reason to open this bottle.
Champagne Cocktail
A sugar cube with Angostura at the bottom, gently topped up with a regular brut.
French 75
Gin, lemon juice and syrup shaken together and topped up with bubbles. Fresh and deceptively strong.
Aperitif cocktails
All the sparkling drinks you serve before the meal, in one place. Handy if you are looking for a simpler bottle.
Kir Royal
Cassis at the bottom, topped up with bubbles. The simpler the champagne, the more logical this choice.Which glass goes with Dom Pérignon P2?
With a long-aged champagne, it is all about giving the aromas room. A tulip-shaped glass or a white wine glass provides that room; a narrow flute preserves the bubbles for longest, but lets in the spicy and toasty side.
More Dom Pérignon flavors
Dom Pérignon
Where it all began. On the brand page, you can read all about Dom Pérignon: origins, varieties and classic cocktails.
To Dom Pérignon →
Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage
Dark spices, cocoa and roasted fig, with the tiniest bubbles imaginable in a copper-colored glass.
View Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage →
Dom Pérignon Rosé 2010
Full-bodied, silky and floral, with red fruit, iris and violet and a long, powerful finish.
View Dom Pérignon Rosé 2010 →
Dom Pérignon Blanc Vintage Magnum
A one-and-a-half-litre vintage champagne, enough for ten to fifteen glasses at one table.
View Dom Pérignon Blanc Vintage Magnum →Questions about Dom Pérignon P2
Didn't find your question? Read more on the Dom Pérignon page or check out our cocktail recipes.
Everything about Dom Pérignon →