Dom Pérignon was a 17th century monk credited with inventing Champagne. His name was later used by Moët & Chandon for their prestige cuvée released in 1937. A rigorous selection process ensures only the best grapes are used in equal proportions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. As it ages, Dom Pérignon takes on toasty aromas and finesse. It is released in "plenitudes" or windows of opportunity at 7-8, 12-15, and over 30 years of aging.

1. Dom Pérignon was the 17th century Benedictine monk who has gone down in
history as the person who "invented" Champagne. His name was originally registered by
Eugène Mercier. He sold the brand name to Moët & Chandon, which used it as the name
for its prestige cuvée, which was first released in 1937.
A rigorous selection process in both the vineyard and winery ensures that only the best
grapes go into Dom Pérignon champagne. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are used in
roughly equal proportions without one variety dominating the other.
In its youth, Dom Pérignon shows incredibly smooth, creamy fruit with perfect balance
and weight. As it ages, it takes on wonderfully toasty aromas and a finesse equalled by
very few of the other Grandes Marques.
Since 2014 Dom Pérignon has no longer been using the term oenothèque for its late-
release Champagnes, but the word Plenitude. This style represents Dom Pérignon
champagne that is left in contact with its lees and does not evolve in a linear fashion, but
ages in a series of stages, producing “windows of opportunity, or plenitudes” when the
Champagne can be disgorged and released to bring consumers a different expression of
the same vintage.
There are three plenitudes in the life of a given vintage: the first plenitude spans
between seven to eight years after the vintage, which is when Dom Pérignon Vintage is
released, while the second one arrives between 12 and 15 years – which was previously
the first oenothèque release, but from now will be branded as P2. The third
window comes after around 30 years, when the Champagne has spent more than 20
years on its lees, which will now be termed as P3.
Billecart-Salmon Is one of the few remaining Champagne houses to be owned by
the original family and was established in 1818 by Nioclas-Francois Billecart.
Most of Billecart-Salmon’s fruit comes from small vineyard holding, though this is
supplemented with grapes brought in from the Marne Valley and the Montagne de
Remis. Meticulous production techniques, from the use of their own cultured yeast to
its long, slow, cool fermentation, ensure that the family has 100% control of production.
Billecart-Salmon is renowned for the quality of its delicate rose, while the Brut Reserve
(a blend of three vintages) is a beautifully harmonious and balanced wine. All have the
ability to age very well.
Gosset is the oldest known producer of wine in the Champagne, its origins going back
to 1584. Since 1994 it has been owned by the Cognac house, Frapin and Jean Pierre
Cointreau is currently C.E.O of both companies.
Situated in the tiny Grand Cru village of Aÿ, 5km from Epernay, Gosset has some rather
famous neighbours, including Bollinger. However, production is much below that of the
larger houses, at around 1.3 million bottles, where as Moët et Chandon are nearing 30
million. With this small production, Gosset concentrates on the quality of its wines

2. rather than the quantity.
All Gosset champagnes are ‘recently disgorged’, normally with a high proportion
of Chardonnayand without malolactic fermentation. This preserves acidity which in
turn keeps the wine fresh for much longer. The Gosset style is very creamy, dry but not
acidic, full, biscuity and yeasty.
The Gosset Brut Excellence NV is a blend of 42% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and
13% Pinot Meunier with a high proportion of reserve wines from previous vintages
(almost 25%)
The Gosset Grand Rosé NV is blended from 56% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and 9%
red wine from Ambonnay. The Gosset Grand Millésime is the first of the vintage
Champagnes produced by Gosset.
Bollinger
The Champagne House of Bollinger was established in 1829 by Jacques Bollinger and
Paul Renaudin. Over the years the vineyard holdings have been steadily increased with
the largest expansion taking place under the stewardship of the legendary Mme Lily
Bollinger. She ran the company between 1941 and 1977 and today it is managed by her
great-nephew, Ghislain de Montgolfier.
Bollinger has a reputation for producing muscular champagnes with body, depth and
power, and is today considered one of the "Great" Champagne houses.
70% of the grapes come from the firm's own vineyards. 80% of the harvest is barrel-
fermented with the wines being kept on their yeast lees for an extended period of time
(in the case of the RD, around 10 years).
Bollinger produces classic, complex, Pinot-Noir dominated champagnes with the ability
to age gracefully for many years.
Laurent Perrier was established in 1812 by the Laurent family. Usually a blend of
three vintages, although in exceptional years released as a vintage label, Grand Siècle is
the flagship of the Laurent Perrier House.
Bordeaux-born winemaker Alain Terrier is an exceptionally gifted character, blending
roughly equal amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to produce an exquisite cuvée,
with delicate richness and great longevity.
Louis Roederer, a wonderful family-owned Champagne house founded in 1776,
has a tremendous reputation for quality. Since 1979 it has been run by Jean-Claude
Rouzaud. 80% of the firm's needs are supplied by their own, magnificent, 444 acres of
vineyard holdings.
Louis Roederer's Pinot Noir based non-vintage Brut Premier is powerful and richly-
honeyed and is far superior to most other producers` vintage Champagnes.
In 1876 Louis Roederer created the now famous Cristal, at the request of Alexander II.
This once intensely sweet wine is now one of the most luscious, deeply flavoured

3. champagnes available, with the '88, '89 and '90 among the greatest Cristals ever
released.
Pol Roger recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and is perhaps best known as
Winston Churchill's favourite Champagne. The house remains family-owned and has a
reputation for producing champagnes of finesse and elegance which age very well. Pol
Roger Brut Rèserve Non-Vintage, made from equal parts of Chardonnay, Pinot
Noir and Pinot Meunier, is consistently one of the very best on the market, largely due
to the high proportion of aged reserve wines in the blend.
Pol Roger vintage wines, made from at least 60% Pinot Noir and up to 40% Chardonnay,
are soft and fruit-driven in youth but, after ten years or so, develop great complexity
and finesse. TheCuvée Sir Winston Churchill, launched in 1984 and made from a secret
blend, is a Champagne of exquisite finesse and balance and one that rivals the very best
of the region
Ruinart is a low profile, yet select, Champagne house which is steeped in history. It
dates back to the 17th century, the time of the famous Dom Pérignon. It was founded in
1729 by Nicolas Ruinart in the city of Reims, the year after a Royal Decree in 1728
whereby Louis XV gave his consent for sparkling wines to be SHIPPED in baskets
containing 50 to 100 bottles. This opened the gates of Europe to champagne and thus
makes Ruinart the oldest Champagne House. Nicolas' uncle was Dom Thierry Ruinart,
close friend to Dom Pérignon himself and an inspiration behind the creation of this
house after the Dom’s death. Its Gallo-Roman chalk cellars are now a UNESCO-
classified historical monument and every two years the finest sommeliers in Europe
gather there to compete for the Trophée Ruinart.
Since the second world war the house has become synonymous with class and its
production of only 1.7 million bottles per annum is small compared to other grande
marques. It is now part of the LVMH group that also owns Moët & Chandon.
The house style emphasises the pre-eminence of Chardonnay over Pinot Noir and Pinot
Meunier.
The 'R' de Ruinart NV contains 40% Chardonnay minimum, with 25% reserve
wines. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, sourced predominantly from
Premier Cru vineyards, whileRuinart Brut Rosé is typically 45% Chardonnay and 55%
Pinot, of which 18% is red wine, so following the assemblage, rather than the saignée
method of rosé production.
The Dom Ruinart range, named for the spiritual father of the House, represents the
prestige cuvées of the house. Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is a Grand Cru Chardonnay,
predominantly from the Côte des Blancs (70%) and the remainder from the Montagne
de Reims.
Dom Ruinart Rosé champagne has the same basis as the Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay)
to which 15%-20% red wine (Pinot Noir from Verzenay and Verzy) has been

4. added. These are amazingly rich and pure in youth developing red Burgundian notes
with long ageing such as in the 1988 or 1990 vintages.
Taittinger is one of the few family-owned independent Champagne houses in
Reims. It produces a very classy Non-Vintage blend and complex Vintage Champagnes
as well.
Its top Champagne is Comtes De Champagne - first produced in 1952, it is made from
100%Chardonnay grapes from 6 Grand Cru sites in the Côte de Blancs. This is finely
aromatic, rich, creamy Blanc de Blancs at its best, though patience is required as the
wine should not be approached for at least ten years.
Veuve Clicquot
Philippe Clicquot-Muiron established Veuve Clicquot in 1772. However, it was
Phillipe`s daughter-in-law, Nicole-Barbe Clicquot, who really laid the foundations of the
modern company. She was one of the great innovators - it was she who invented
remuage in the early 19th century. Now it is part of the LVMH group. The Non-Vintage
Brut is a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier. It has a
nose of white fruits and freshly baked bread and is fresh and balanced on the palate.
The vintage wines are similar in character but with more depth of fruit and more
structure. La Grande Dame, first made in 1969, is a rich, smooth and finely textured
Champagne that simply oozes class and breeding.