Dear all, I would like to thank all of you for the great week I had in your company. I appreciated the thoughtful questions, which I hope I managed to answer to your satisfaction. I have actually selected a couple of them to be republished on my blog in the next few weeks, while others will appear a...

Bonjour Eric, I hope you are well. Say hi to Jay from me! I think I have already partly answered your question in another thread . I agree that when it comes to glasses (and to so many other things...), habits evolve slower than we may have thought or hoped for, but the change is nevertheless underw...

Jeff, Ray, As explained in the Manifesto , we strive to reach the perfect balance between black and white grapes, between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Pinot Meunier is never used. You will find more information in my blog entry about the assemblage , with even a few specific examples for various vinta...

Dear Keith and Robert, I find the still red wines from Champagne more than interesting, they are definitely participating in their own way to the greatness and diversity of the region (not to mention its history, since it is where the wines from Champagne are coming from). These wines are better tha...

Dear Alan, First of all thanks for all the questions you asked. I have actually selected one of them (and its answer!) to be published on the blog in the next few weeks, if you don't mind. The transmission of expertise from one chef de cave to the next is crucial for us, as you have correctly noted....

Dear Peter, Starting with your more general question, we definitely wait until after the assemblage to decide. You will find more information about the whole process in the blog entry about the assemblage . Regarding the 1997 vintage specifically, I observed that many houses decided to declare eithe...

Dear Robert, I have a tremendous respect for these producers, even though our visions can diverge significantly (I would even confess I don't fully understand some of them). There is strength in diversity and we all together must be proud to contribute to the greatness of one single appellation. Bes...

Hi Ray, The true secret of what I would call the resilience of the style is to be found in the incredible diversity, quality and complementarity of our vineyards. One has to know that we mostly use estate fruit, and that the contract fruit is only marginal. In particular I have the privilege to acce...

Dear Brian, This is a great and original question (thanks for your answer and compliments in the food & wine thread, by the way). I could tell you to visit the Cathédrale de Reims , to indulge at such or such restaurant, or not to underestimate (or overestimate!) the French road system, and many suc...

Dear Brian, Possibilities are endless. As long as the dish doesn't display an excessive amount of the basic taste components (sweetness, saltiness, bitterness or acidity), it is owrth having a go. The pairing should not be restrictive: I encourage everybody to be as open-minded and bold as possible....

Dear Regan, Dom Pérignon keeps evolving with every vintage, we will keep pushing the envelope forever. It is a quest towards an absolute in the expression of style. I believe there isn't such an important change with the 2000 vintage—or simply a combination of minute factors, the sum of invisible pa...

Don, I have now answered your question in this thread.

Best regards,
Richard

Alan, thanks for these questions. Regarding the first one, it of course depends on whether we are considering the bottle before or after disgorgement. After disgorgement, we do the utmost so that Dom Pérignon can be enjoyed right after release, not only defining carefully the timing of disgorgement ...

Jeff, thanks for your question. I also consider these three vintages as the greatest ones of the past 20 years at Dom Pérignon, and I am pleased that we made them available right as we speak: 2002 Dom Pérignon Vintage, 1996 Dom Pérignon Œnothèque and 1990 Dom Pérignon Rosé Œnothèque. These three vin...

Dear Andrew, Thanks for these questions, since I rarely have the opportunity to discuss these issues. The first thing I would like to say is that we do not pick grapes based upon a fixed maturity target. The Champagne region is cool climate: this allows for dramatic variations in maturity from vinta...

Alan, thanks for the kind words. I have two major goals when it comes to excellence in winemaking: quality and consistency, both being equally important. We are very committed to achieving total consistency across the whole process of blending in one vintage. The solution is purely technical, with t...

Dear Bill, Thanks for this question, which is asked more and more often in the light of the current micro-trend for vineyard designates in Champagne. This practice goes against the Dom Pérignon ideal, as expressed in the Manifesto: Dom Pérignon is always an assemblage . Year after year I can see tha...

Dear Eric, Great question! I would say that generally speaking dosage indeed contributes to a wine's capacity to age. However when it comes to Dom Pérignon I feel it remains marginal: the wine itself holds the greatest aging potential, thanks to the quality of the terroirs, the selection of grapes, ...

Dear Michael, I remember this interview. Dom Pérignon natural aromas are indeed reductive, on the "grey" side. I find it interesting to let some "brown" (oxidative) aromas develop in the bottle, I feel they tend to bring a bit more richness and warmth to the wine. However such a process takes a long...

Dear Michael, I believe wine in general, and Dom Pérignon specifically, has a better aging potential in larger formats. Even though the wine from a standard bottle can be more expressive in the beginning, with time magnums or jeroboams will always show more precision and complexity, as well as bette...

Dear all, Actually my first concern when it comes to half bottles, way before cost and demand, is quality: Dom Pérignon ages quicker in half bottles, which invariably implies lesser quality. Since ageworthiness is such a key characteristic of Dom Pérignon, it would make little sense from my point of...

Dear Brian & Mike,

I have indeed already addressed these questions in my blog, with two blog entries: Riedel Pinot Noit Vinum XL and Of Wine Glasses. However if you have more precise questions I will be happy to answer them.

Best regards,
Richard

I am really grateful to be a guest on Wine Berserkers. I can see some really great questions so far, and plan to start answering them later this week. I hope to see even more questions by then!

Best regards,
Richard