Dom Perignon P2 Plenitude 2004

A monk's name on a modern idea

Dom Perignon is named for Dom Pierre Perignon, a Benedictine monk who became treasurer of the Abbey of Hautvillers, near Epernay, in 1688 and spent 47 years making wine there until his death in 1715. The brand passed from the Champagne house Mercier to Moet & Chandon in 1927 after a family wedding.

The first vintage of the wine was 1921, and it went on sale in 1936, when bottles were shipped to New York aboard the liner Normandie. Until 1943 it was made from regular Moet & Chandon vintage Champagne moved into special bottles after cellaring; from 1947 it has been made separately from the start. It is always a vintage wine, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in proportions that change from year to year, and today it belongs to LVMH.

Dom Perignon releases each vintage up to three times, in what it calls Plenitudes. The first comes after about seven to nine years on the lees. The second, P2, follows after roughly 15 to 20 years, when the house says the wine becomes 'wider, deeper, longer, more intense.' The third, P3, appears after 30 to 40 years or more, in very small quantities. The late releases were once sold as Oenotheque; from the 1998 vintage on, each has been called P2.

2004: the biggest crop Champagne had seen

2004 followed the brutally hot 2003, and the vines responded with a huge crop. One critic called it 'the most abundant vintage in the history of Champagne.' The growing season was long and cool, with heavy summer rain in some areas and a particularly cool August, and then ideal conditions into the harvest.

Dom Perignon's own notes describe a year of 'remarkable ease and generosity,' with vines that developed regularly and without incident. Dry heat in the final weeks shaped the vintage, and the house began picking on September 24, aiming for grapes that were both healthy and fully ripe.

The first release of the 2004 drew high marks of its own; published scores range from 94 to 98 points. Sources disagree on the blend: one merchant lists the first release as an even 50-50 split of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a 2013 disgorgement, while the P2 is listed at 62 percent Pinot Noir and 38 percent Chardonnay. Whether that reflects a different assembly or a different way of reporting it is not explained in the sources found.

Two cellar masters

The 2004 was blended under Richard Geoffroy, chef de cave of Dom Perignon from 1990 to 2018. It was finished and released by his successor, Vincent Chaperon, who took over from Geoffroy after working at his side for more than 13 years and has led the cellars since 2019.

One profile of the house's cellar masters describes Chaperon as quieter and more aesthetic than his predecessor, and expects his mark to lean toward elegance and finesse. The 2004 P2 is a wine one cellar master picked and another decided was ready.

Sixteen years in the dark

The 2004 P2 rested on its lees for about sixteen years before it was disgorged in September 2021, and it was dosed at 5 grams of sugar per liter, a brut. It reached the market in the autumn of 2022, a few weeks before October 12 of that year, following the 2003 P2.

Critics rated it among the strongest late releases. Antonio Galloni gave 97 points, calling it 'precise and wonderfully refined' with dried flowers, brioche, apricot preserves, sage, mint and chamomile. Alison Napjus also gave 97, citing mandarin orange, ripe cherry, raspberry and apricot with 'minerally chalk and smoke.' Essi Avellan scored it 96 for its 'silk-like texture,' and Jancis Robinson gave 18 out of 20, praising a creamy, lemon-sherbet character. William Kelley gave 95.

The bottle is a standard 750 ml Dom Perignon shape with the P2 designation and the 2004 vintage on the label, sold in a gift box. One British merchant suggests drinking it now through 2038.

On the shelf

One source puts Dom Perignon's output at about four million bottles of the white a year; how many bottles of the 2004 were held back for P2 is not published in the sources found. In October 2026 a U.S. merchant listed a single gift-boxed bottle at $699.97, and a Washington, D.C. merchant showed a sold-out listing at $549.99, marked down from $649.99. These are asking prices, not sales.

The vintage has a separate auction footnote: in 2004, at auction in New York, three bottles of the 1921 Dom Perignon from the Doris Duke collection sold for $24,675 together, a lot rather than a single bottle.

The numbers

Blend

62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay

Lees aging

About 16 years

Disgorgement

September 2021

Dosage

5 g/l

Alcohol

12.5%

Harvest start

September 24, 2004

Antonio Galloni

97

Alison Napjus

97

Jancis Robinson

18/20

Timeline

1. 1688

   Dom Pierre Perignon becomes treasurer of the Abbey of Hautvillers.

2. 1715

   Dom Perignon dies after 47 years of winemaking at the abbey.

3. 1921

   First vintage of Dom Perignon.

4. 1927

   The brand passes from Mercier to Moet & Chandon after a family wedding.

5. 1936

   Dom Perignon goes on sale, shipped to New York aboard the Normandie.

6. 1990

   Richard Geoffroy becomes chef de cave.

7. Sep 24, 2004

   Dom Perignon begins picking the 2004 harvest, Champagne's most abundant on record.

8. 2019

   Vincent Chaperon, Geoffroy's colleague of more than 13 years, leads the cellars as chef de cave.

9. Sep 2021

   The 2004 P2 is disgorged after about sixteen years on its lees.

10. Oct 2022

    Dom Perignon launches the 2004 Plenitude 2.

11. Oct 2026

    A U.S. merchant lists a bottle at $699.97.

The world in 2004

• Jan 2004

  NASA lands the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars.

• 2004

  Mark Zuckerberg launches TheFacebook.

• Mar 11, 2004

  Train bombings in Madrid kill 193 people.

• 2004

  The European Union adds ten new member states.

• 2004

  The Summer Olympics are held in Athens.

• Sep 2004

  The Beslan school siege in Russia ends with 334 people killed.

• Dec 26, 2004

  An earthquake off Sumatra sets off the Indian Ocean tsunami, killing more than 227,000 people.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Dom Perignon P2 Plenitude 2004 is number 64 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (68 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Dom Perignon's first vintage, the 1921, did not go on sale until 1936.
• 2004 is described as the most abundant vintage in Champagne's history, coming straight after the scorching 2003.
• The 2004 P2 spent about sixteen years on its lees before it was disgorged in 2021.
• Dom Perignon's late releases were sold as Oenotheque until the house began calling them P2 from the 1998 vintage.
• The wine was harvested under one chef de cave and released under another.
• Until 1943, Dom Perignon was ordinary Moet & Chandon vintage Champagne moved into special bottles.