Who makes it
Dom Pérignon is a prestige vintage Champagne named after Dom Pierre Pérignon, the Benedictine monk and cellarer at Hautvillers Abbey. The house releases sparkling wine by vintage, with white, rosé and P2 bottles in the named range. Vincent Chaperon serves as cellar master.
P2 is the second release of a vintage after extended lees ageing. It is the same wine at a later stage of maturity, not a separate non vintage cuvée. The range is therefore organised by harvest year, colour and release stage.
Where it grows
Champagne appellation is the geographic designation on Dom Pérignon's label. It is reserved for sparkling wine made under the appellation's rules, so place and production method arrive together.
A second fermentation in bottle creates the bubbles, while lees ageing, the period when wine rests with yeast cells after fermentation, can add texture and savoury notes. Dom Pérignon's vintage format then adds a harvest year to the regional name, while P2 marks a later release after that ageing. Champagne names the regional style, the year identifies the harvest, and P2 identifies later maturation.
How it is made
The cellar
Dom Pérignon operates approximately 1,600 consolidated hectares of vineyard estate. Vincent Chaperon is cellar master. The P2 releases receive extended lees ageing before disgorgement, when the wine is separated from the yeast deposit and prepared for release.
One P2 release spent 14 years on lees. Lees are yeast cells left after fermentation, and contact over time can add texture and savoury depth while the wine remains sealed in bottle. In this format, ageing time is part of the release design, with P2 arriving later than the first vintage release.
What they make
Dom Pérignon's range is organised by vintage and release stage. The standard Dom Pérignon bottle is a vintage sparkling wine, Rosé Murakami is the rosé expression and a limited edition collaboration with Takashi Murakami, and P2 is the second release of a vintage after extended lees ageing.
Rosé Murakami has the same wine composition as the standard Rosé, with different packaging. The range moves between a first vintage release, a rosé edition and later P2 releases. All are sparkling wines, with the P2 format adding time before disgorgement.
Wines to try
First bottle
Choose Dom Pérignon P2 2006. This is the second release of the 2006 vintage, with 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay. The bottle puts grape proportions and release stage together: a vintage wine returned after extended lees ageing, with the P2 name marking its later maturity.