Dom Pérignon: New Release With Amazing Scores

2019 was the year the Champagne world's ecstasy was unleashed and the 2008 vintage of the prestige cuvée, Dom Pérignon, was finally released. Champagne lovers around the world lined up, the legendary benchmark Champagne came to life, and those who invested from the start have already seen a return of more than 50% in Champagne's early years. 

Now, they have committed another stroke of genius, and the 2012 Dom Pérignon is now physically on the market. If you want to get involved from the start, now is the time. 

Dom Pierre Pérignon: The Story Of The Benedictine Monk

In 1668, 19-year-old Dom Pierre Pérignon chose to spend the rest of his life as a Benedictine monk in the monastery of Hautvillers. At the time, monks were the biggest landowners and in fact produced the wine of the time. 

Dom Pierre Pérignon devoted his life to the monastery - and fortunately also to winemaking. 

He was cellar master at Hautvillers until his death in 1715, and his many years of dedication to winemaking have left a mark on our times. It was he, who explored different grapes and found that Pinot Noir was well suited to the French climate. And it was he, who decided to blend grapes to make more complex wines. 

The First Prestige Cuvée In Champagne

Today, some of the grapes from the abbey's vineyards in Hautvillers are used to produce Dom Pérignon. Both to honour the legendary monk, but also because the terroir does the prestige cuvée justice. 

Dom Pérignon is the world's first prestige cuvée with their first vintage 1921, which came on the market in 1936. The originator was Möet & Chandon, but after World War II, Dom Pérignon became its own independent wine to promote its quality and detail.    

Today, Dom Pérignon is owned by the LMVH group, and this should certainly not be underestimated. With a large group behind it, comes also a gigantic distribution and marketing machinery that works in the prestige cuvée's favour.

The 2012 Dom Pérignon scores 96.3 points across the world's most respected wine critics, who are broadly unanimous in their scoring. It thus ranks close to the superb 2008 vintage (96.7 points) and shares second place with the 1996. 

The 2012 thus knocks the 2002 and 1988 off the podium, underlining the sublime quality of the 2012 vintage in particular, while a comparison with the legendary 2008 vintage is certainly worthy.

How 2008 Dom Pérignon Has Performed So Far

January 9 2019 was a great day. That was the first time we published an investment tip on 2008 Dom Pérignon on top of its long-awaited release. The price then was € 130 per bottle^* and as expected, there was massive enthusiasm for investment. 

Mechanisms in the wine market, which you can read much more about here, caused the price to take a small dive (-5.3 %) over the coming months. Despite this, our recommendation remained (and remains) on investment in 2008 Dom Pérignon. We advised investors, who had bought in, to remain calm and be happy to have acquired volumes - something that would not be easy in the future. 

Today, 2008 Dom Pérignon sells for € 200^*. This represents an increase of a whopping 53.8 %, an average annual return of more than 15 % since our first recommendation. 

The 2012 vintage is not the 2008 vintage, but the highly comparable scores still paint a picture of comparable wines, and with the 2008 vintage already being, and in the future becoming, even more difficult to find, the 2012 vintage stands as a highly attractive alternative and is likely to become a favourite choice among the world's Dom Pérignon and Champagne lovers. 

*excluding duty, VAT, and tax, in whole boxes and perfect condition

Global Champagne Shortage

The Corona pandemic has had major global consequences, and inevitably it has also affected the world of wine. Today, Champagne is harder to come by for several reasons. According to the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), demand for Champagne fell in 2020, with sales down 18 % by volume.

However, demand rose again at the end of 2020 and continued into 2021 with record yields. However, this has brought a new challenge: each year the CIVC sets limits on how much Champagne may be produced, and because of failing demand, Champagne production in 2020 was reduced by 25 % compared to 2019. 

The combination of this and a significant increase in demand throughout 2021 has created an extreme imbalance between supply and demand, which cannot simply be remedied overnight. Indeed, Champagne producers are also pressured by the supply issues of corona, and even if production could be easily scaled up again, they still lack everything from glass to cardboard, wood and the likes. 

Gabe Barkley, CEO of the LMVH Group, predicts that reduced production in the current vintages could affect the market for many years to come. This provides an attractive environment for investors.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

We think that Dom Pérignon 2012 is Summa Cum laude. First of all, we are dealing with a prestigious brand with great marketing power in the engine room. Secondly, 2012 Dom Pérignon is a vintage that impresses critics and ranks close to the 2008 vintage. 

The 2008 vintage has performed well, yielding 53.8 % since RareWine Invest offered it for investment in January 2019. 

Finally, the global shortage of Champagne must be factored into this investment equation. So it pays to hold on when there is an opportunity to acquire investment-grade Champagne from the exclusive houses while they are still on the market. One thing is certain: If you want to get in from the start, now is the time. 

We have great confidence in this one, just as we had with the 2008 vintage.