NEW YORK, July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Dom Perignon received top accolades at the 29th annual San Francisco International Wine Competition, one of the most important and comprehensive wine and spirits competitions in the world. Dom Perignon OEnotheque 1995 was chosen Best in Show of all sparkling wines after the panel of judges agreed that it was the finest example of champagne or sparkling wine presented in the competition. Dom Perignon Vintage 2000 was awarded the Double Gold medal for unanimously pleasing the judges. Double gold is the second highest ranking a wine can achieve in competition, after Best in Show.

Of these honors, Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy commented, "It is particularly gratifying to have the OEnotheque 1995 chosen as Best in Show. This wine is very personal to me, because my skills and creativity are tested and it is my task as chef de cave to know when the time has come to pronounce the wine ready. Vintage 2000 represents the essence of Dom Perignon, fresh yet mature, sparkling and seductive."

Since 1668, the goal of Dom Perignon has been to create the best wine in the world. Every step taken, from the selection of the best vines and the blending of the finest grapes to the declaration of the vintage is done with a single goal in mind: to reveal the promise of excellence inherent in each Dom Perignon vintage, and culminating in the fulfillment of the Dom Perignon style after a period of seven years.

Dom Perignon Vintage 2000

Dom Perignon Vintage 2000 is mysterious yet present, enigmatic and luminous, austere and opulent, elegant and sensual. This vintage could not possibly be a better expression of Dom Perignon's timeless style, nor more reflective of the 21st century which it opens. Dom Perignon Vintage 2000 has two faces. It is a paradoxical vintage: fresh yet mature, sparkling and serene, precise and caressing, austere and seductive. The paradoxes create aromatic, gustatory and tactile tensions that offer exceptional taste sensations.

Dom Perignon OEnotheque

Although every vintage of Dom Perignon evolves over a minimum of seven years in the cellar on the lees before being disgorged and released, a limited number of bottles are sometimes set aside to begin a second period of aging in order to join Dom Perignon OEnotheque. The secret of the OEnotheque lies in the additional duration of the wine's aging on the lees. This extra time allows each Dom Perignon vintage to surpass itself and metamorphose, becoming something that is not quite the same and not quite different. Dom Perignon OEnotheque is the ultimate expression of a wine whose style defies time.

Dom Perignon OEnotheque 1995 was aged for thirteen years in the Dom Perignon OEnotheque cellars, until the vintage acquired its maximum intensity and complexity.

Dom Perignon OEnotheque 1995 retains the imprint of the original Vintage 1995 which was released in 2002. Today, Dom Perignon OEnotheque 1995 has achieved a new peak of excellence, a second life, characterized by its intensity and exceptional complexity.

About Dom Perignon

To this day, Dom Perignon has retained founder Dom Pierre Perignon's modern vision of true luxury: always excellent yet always improving. Richard Geoffroy, Dom Perignon Chef de Cave, is the man responsible for the constant reinvention of the wine. The making of each vintage involves a delicate job of assemblage and adjustment - different each time - before the mysterious balance between Dom Perignon's "white" and "black" grapes (chardonnay and pinot noir) can be reached.

This delicate exercise is full of risks. The assemblage of each Dom Perignon vintage is a creative act in the most inspired sense of the term. The extra effort that goes into its making enables each vintage to express its unique character while affirming the timeless style of Dom Perignon.

About The San Francisco International Wine Competition

Founded in 1980 by Executive Director and respected wine and spirits editor Anthony Dias Blue, The San Francisco International Wine Competition is one of the most important and comprehensive competitions in the world. It grows in prestige and attendance with each successive year, both because of the large number of wines entered and the high level of expertise of the judges.

SOURCE Dom Perignon