Tasting Notes
Vinous 93
Pale yellow. An enticing blend of red berries, butter and toast on the nose; this settled down to an earthy, smoky character that reminded me of Batard-Montrachet. Full and rich, with flavors of musky yellow plum and ripe pear accented by crisp mineral notes. Really long and vibrant on the building finish, if not as precise or elegant as the 1996. Still, of the two vintages, this is the one I would prefer to drink over the next five or years or so.
Robert Parker 97
The 1998 Dom Perignon has an intense white-golden color and is beautifully clear and fine on the nose, which indicates a lovely maturity and displays grey bread, almond cake and iodine flavors, along with lemon and orange aromas. This clarity and mineral freshness proceeds on the highly elegant, finesse-full and silky textured palate, and the complexly flavored, very distinguished finish is dry and mineral, revealing a stimulating salinity and tension. The 1998 seems young still, but is certainly a great pleasure to drink and will be for many years.
Anticipated maturity: 2016-2040
JancisRobinson.com 17.5
Pale strawberry pink with a decidedly salmon/orange tint. Very firm nose, almost austere and certainly promising quite a bit of chew on the palate. A hint of orange peel, then some strawberry fruit and smoke. Nothing vapid or simpering about this wine! Still quite firm on the palate, a wine that seems to me to cry out for food. Absolutely no hurry to drink it. Quite burgundian. Not quite as persistent as I would have hoped.
Anticipated maturity: 2011-2021
The Champagne Club 93
You will have to take my first notes on this wine with a generous pinch of salt. I tasted it actually in connection with the launch of my latest book at the French Embassy in New York. Partly I had my focus elsewhere, but above all the glasses were far from perfect. This wine felt classical, fairly light, but with a long, impressive aftertaste. I will return to it when I have been able to taste it in my own glasses. Now I have done that and the impression is the same in the main. Very long, pure and classical, with mineral in the lead, but up to now rather weak.


