2018 Dom Pérignon "Limited Edition Damien Hirst" Brut Champagne

The 2018 Dom Pérignon, born of a dry, solar year and an August harvest, is a lighter-footed, less concentrated rendition when considered alongside the 2017. It opens with a moderately complex bouquet of clementine, fresh apricot and cardamom, mingling with notes of nectarine, iris and freshly baked bread, offering rather little in the way of reductive character. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, ample and enveloping, with a sweet, fleshy core of fruit and a pillowy mousse. Its acids are ripe—and softer than those of the 2017, yet racy—carrying the wine toward a long, delicately phenolic finish. Even if it starts its life somewhat less expressive, as it evolves on its fruit and the extract derived from its ripe skins, it may well, in time, render my initial assessment on the conservative side. A blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir, it was disgorged in March 2024 and finished with a dosage of about seven grams per liter. (KK)

Smoky, tense and taut with more marked acidity and depth than the 2017. But then the ripeness really shines through, too, though there's a touch of something saline or mineral. This should last well. Great fruit intensity. Really very glamorous indeed. A no-brainer for hedonists. 18+/20 points (JR)