Dom Perignon Brut Champagne 2012

Even teetolalers know the name Dom Pérignon. That’s how powerful this brand is, and yet, for all its luxury iconography and celebrity collaborations, what matters to us is the exquisite wine inside that iconic bottle. Always a vintage-dated wine and only released in years that produced wines of suitably dramatic dimensions, this is Champagne’s most enduring “prestige cuvée.” We’ve landed a precious few bottles of the acclaimed 2012 vintage and they’re likely to disappear quickly, given the praise lavished on it by the critics. This was a vintage marked by a unique combination of sun-soaked depth and laser focus, which begs the question: Drink or hold? Either way, here’s a chance to see what the best of the best tastes like!

As always, Dom Pérignon’s chef de cave has access to fruit from all of Champagne’s Grand Cru villages, along with the Premier Cru Hautvillers, home to the historic abbey where Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon (1638-1715) perfected the craft of sparkling wine production. As always, the 2012 release aged for some eight years on its lees before it was released into the market, featuring Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in roughly equal percentages. Reviewers gushed over its combination of elegance and power, its “incipiently fleshy core of fruit framed by racy acids and chalky grip, complemented by a classy pinpoint mousse.”