Defining a New Vintage

By Kate Betts

Leave it to Dom Perignon, the Champagne house that has been making wine for more than three centuries, to come up with OEnotheque, a unique definition of luxury. It's the masterpiece of Dom Perignon's chef de cave, Richard Geoffroy, who has just named two releases that will bear the OEnotheque label. Here's how it works: instead of being bottled after seven years, some of the wine is held back so that the yeast can mature further. Every year Geoffroy tastes the Champagne (cuvees generally age for 12 to 15 years, and up to more than 25 years) to determine whether it is worthy of release. The latest OEnotheque Champagnes--one from the 1993 vintage and another from the 1985 vintage--are now on sale.