Dom Pérignon’s 2010 Vintage Redeems a Year Winemakers Wish to Forget

Most Champagne is nonvintage. Instead, grapes from various years are blended to create a consistent flavor. (That’s why brands such as Veuve Clicquot always taste the same.) In the best years, vintners will sometimes release a wine using only grapes from a singular, superior harvest; 2010 wasn’t one of those years. Much of the crop was lost after two months’ worth of rain fell over two days in mid-August. That led to an invasion of botrytis—or gray mold—and rot. This summer, Dom Pérignon became the first major house to release a 2010 vintage after discovering that as the surviving grapes ripened, they’d retained a high level of acidity, a rare occurrence. Its small run ($188 a bottle) balances rich fruit flavors with a refreshing character that Vincent Chaperon, the brand’s chef de cave, describes as “vigorous yet graceful.”

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