On Wednesday December 2, Peter & Company Distribution hosted a private sale event at Saman House, Cap Estate. The star of the evening was Dom Pérignon, and guests were invited to “discover the dark tasting revelation of Dom Pérignon vintage”.
Nathan Benfrech from France, who is Dom Pérignon’s icon ambassador, took guests through a journey into the origins of the brand as well as what goes into the production of this unique product. He explained that Dom Pérignon is a brand of vintage champagne produced by Moet & Chandon under the LVMH banner. “It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important pioneer for champagne wine,” Benfrech explained. He added that what is so special about Dom Pérignon is that it is always a vintage champagne, meaning that it is not made in weak years when, for example, the weather adversely affects the quality of grapes. Additionally all grapes used to make the wine are harvested in the same year.
Dom Pérignon is an assemblage of Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes and is produced in stages described as plenitudes. Dom Pérignon expresses its first plénitude (P1) after seven years in the cellar with a second plénitude (P2) after 12 to 15 years and a third plénitude (P3) after 30 to 40 years.
On Wednesday guests had the opportunity to taste Dom Pérignon P1 and P2 and place their orders at special prices. Mr and Mrs Sivil who purchased the most, won a night’s stay at the luxurious Jade Mountain in Soufriere.
From 1921 to 2005, Dom Pérignon champagne has been produced in 41 vintages. More than two vintage years in a row is a rare phenomenon which, until 2004, had only occurred three times: in 1969, 1970 and 1971; in 1998, 1999 and 2000; in 2002, 2003 and 2004. 2005 marked the first time when four vintages had been produced in a row.
Speaking to the STAR on Wednesday Nathan Benfrech explained that he is on island meeting with various clientele and customers through Peter & Company Distribution, all in an effort to implement special Dom Pérignon programmes. “The idea is really to organize private events like this one here tonight and just share a bit of knowledge about Dom Pérignon, allow them to taste and explain to them the plenitude concept,” he said.
Nathan Benfrech was asked to put in simple terms what is so special about Dom Pérignon. “First I will say that it is vintage only. Next, that Dom Pierre Pérignon is considered as the spiritual father of champagne so there are a lot of stories to tell about this. Also that it is made from grapes from the 17 best regions in Champagne France – with a perfect balance between maturity and freshness.”
Akim Larcher, who is the brand manager for Dom Pérignon at Peter & Company Distribution also gave the STAR some insight about the event: “Primarily the activity is about two things; one it’s about Peter & Company Distribution and the number of brands that we represent. For me it’s representing the number of brands that the Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LVMH) group carries and for tonight it was all about Dom Pérignon.”
According to Larcher, Dom Pérignon has been a product available at the Peter & Company group for several years and at present the company carries the 2004 vintage (P1) as well as the P2.
Dom Pérignon P1 is available at GL Supermarket and at the House of Wines and Spirits. Dom Pérignon P2 is only available through direct sales and is being pitched at select events such as Wednesday’s. “The reason for this is that it is a product that requires proper handling and knowledge translation,” Larcher explained.
Over the next 12 months Peter & Company Distributors will be hosting several other events with their iconic brands. Wednesday’s event also featured Acqua Panna fine dining waters, San Pellegrino, Hennessey and Belvedere Vodka.
