Dom Perignon Rose 2008

The monk's name and a rose for the Shah

Dom Perignon is named after a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Hautvillers in Champagne. Despite the popular story, he did not invent the Champagne method. The first vintage of the wine that bears his name was 1921, and it was first sold in 1936, when bottles were shipped to New York on the liner Normandie. It is made by Moet & Chandon, now part of LVMH.

The rose came later. Its first vintage was 1959, and its first buyer was the Shah of Iran, who acquired bottles to serve at the 1971 celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. One account says that 1959 vintage was never sold commercially, and that 1962 was the first rose released to the public.

Rose is a small part of the house's output, a few percent of production by one account. The limiting factor, according to the cellar master, is the red wine: it comes only from Pinot Noir plots able to ripen well beyond the norm for Champagne, which are rare in the region.

From Geoffroy to Chaperon

Richard Geoffroy was Dom Perignon's chef de cave, creating 15 vintages between 1990 and 2009 and developing the idea of Plenitudes: the same vintage released at successive stages of maturity, called P1, P2 and P3. Vincent Chaperon, born in Pomerol and trained as an agricultural engineer in Montpellier, worked alongside him from 2005 and succeeded him on January 1, 2019.

The 2008 straddles the two. The white 2008 was made under Geoffroy and released in 2018 with a special edition carrying both men's names. The rose 2008 was released three years later under Chaperon, who described it as representing a new era for the house.

Chaperon explained that between 2000 and 2005 the house experimented with new tools and techniques, and that 2008 was the year the two-part renovation of its red wine winery was completed. The house changed how it selects plots, how it farms the vines and how far it pushes grape ripeness.

2008: a classic, cooler year

Chaperon calls 2008 a classic vintage. It was not as hot as most of the previous 15 years, which let the house use the Pinot Noir of warm Ay without the heaviness such villages can bring in hotter years. The red wines from Hautvillers, Bouzy and Ay came out with good freshness and acidity, as well as body.

The 2008 vintage was so widely acclaimed that Dom Perignon gave it extra time: in 2017 the house released its white 2009 before the 2008, the first out-of-sequence release in its history. The rose waited longer still. After about 12 years in the cellar, Chaperon said, it began to show the harmony the team was looking for, with tension between acidity, tannin and an umami character that gives a sense of salinity.

The final blend is 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, with only 10% Pinot Noir red wine. That is low for the house: the 2005 rose had 27% red wine and the 2006 had 21%. The aim was to keep the Dom Perignon profile while pushing toward more concentration and power, built on the structure of the Ay Pinot Noir.

How to know it

Dom Perignon makes its rose by blending, adding separately made red wine to the white base wine before the second fermentation. Its red wine share typically ranges between 12 and 28 percent, so the 2008's 10% makes it unusual. One critic found Pinot Noir from parcels called Chants de Linottes in Hautvillers and Vauzelles in Ay, with notes of rose petals, raspberry and mushroom.

Critics rated it highly. James Suckling gave it 99, Wine Spectator 97, and Decanter and Jeb Dunnuck 95 each. The house itself describes raspberries and wild strawberries, iris and violet, and a finish of peonies and white pepper.

Besides the standard label, a limited edition designed with Lady Gaga was added for the 2008 rose in September 2022, following her earlier editions for the 2005 and 2006 roses. The house said its profits from the collaboration would go to her Born This Way Foundation.

On the market

The 2008 rose was released on December 1, 2021, with a recommended retail price of $350 a bottle. Five years later it sells for well above that: in October 2026 a U.S. merchant listed a single 750ml bottle at $459.99. Some merchants sell it only in multi-bottle lots, which are not single-bottle prices.

The numbers

Blend

55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay

Red wine share

10% (2005: 27%; 2006: 21%)

Time on lees

About 12 years

James Suckling

99

Wine Spectator

97

Decanter

95

Jeb Dunnuck

95

Timeline

1. 1921

   The first vintage of Dom Perignon is made.

2. 1936

   Dom Perignon is first sold, shipped to New York on the Normandie.

3. 1959

   The first Dom Perignon rose vintage.

4. 1971

   The Shah of Iran serves Dom Perignon rose at the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire.

5. 2005

   Vincent Chaperon begins working alongside chef de cave Richard Geoffroy.

6. 2008

   Renovation of the house's red wine winery is completed; a classic, cooler harvest.

7. 2017

   Dom Perignon releases its 2009 before the 2008, the first out-of-sequence release in its history.

8. Jun 19, 2018

   The white Dom Perignon 2008 is released in London.

9. Jan 1, 2019

   Vincent Chaperon succeeds Richard Geoffroy as chef de cave.

10. Dec 1, 2021

    Dom Perignon Rose 2008 is released at a recommended $350 a bottle.

11. Sep 2022

    A Lady Gaga limited edition of the Rose 2008 is added.

12. Oct 2026

    A U.S. merchant lists a single bottle at $459.99.

The world in 2008

• Feb 17, 2008

  Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.

• May 12, 2008

  A magnitude 7.9 earthquake strikes Sichuan, China, killing about 87,500 people.

• May 25, 2008

  NASA's Phoenix lander reaches the Martian arctic and later confirms subsurface ice.

• Aug 2008

  Beijing hosts the Summer Olympics, the first held in China.

• Sep 10, 2008

  The Large Hadron Collider is switched on.

• Sep 15, 2008

  Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, deepening the global financial crisis.

• Nov 4, 2008

  Barack Obama is elected the 44th president of the United States.

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 Rose 2008 is number 76 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 (95 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The first buyer of Dom Perignon rose was the Shah of Iran.
• The 2008 was so well regarded that the house released its 2009 first, a first in its history.
• The 2008 rose has only 10% red wine, against 27% in the 2005.
• The monk Dom Perignon did not actually invent the Champagne method.
• The first Dom Perignon shipment, in 1936, crossed the Atlantic on the liner Normandie.
• Lady Gaga designed a limited-edition label for the 2008 rose.