The Exclusive 2008 Dom Pérignon Is Back In Limited Availability

“Unquestionably the finest Dom Pérignon of the decade”, Wine Advocate about 2008 Dom Pérignon

The 2008 Champagnes are always in very high demand. And when the producer is one of the world’s most popular Champagne houses and the wine is ‘the finest of the decade,’ it hardly gets better than this.

Or actually, it does. The market has been turbulent in recent years, affecting the prices of the world’s finest wines – including the 2008 Dom Pérignon. This means that you now have the opportunity to invest in a sublime Champagne at a very favorable price.

2008 Dom Pérignon: The Best Ever

While Dom Pérignon is renowned for its consistently high quality, some vintages take an extra step up the ranks. The 2008 Dom Pérignon is one of these – a strong representative of the triumph of the 2008 vintage in Champagne.

The 2008 Dom Pérignon receives 96 points from Wine Advocate, 97 points from Richard Juhlin, and an impressive 98 points from Vinous, resulting in an average score of 97 across the three critics. In fact, we have to go all the way back to the 1964 vintage to find a comparable average score – and that one was not rated by Wine Advocate.

Only five times since the 1921 vintage has Richard Juhlin awarded 97 points, and aside from 2008, the last time was for the 1976 Dom Pérignon. He's awarded 98 points only once – to the 1949 Dom Pérignon.

In this perspective, the 2008 Dom Pérignon is just that much more unique. A bit more exclusive. A true bucket-list wine for future wine lovers.

Dom Pérignon | A Luxury Icon Rooted in Unwavering Quality

Dom Pérignon evokes associations of historic grandeur, prestige, sublime extravagance, and luxury. Today, it rightfully holds the mantle of one of the world’s most iconic and prestigious Champagne producers.

The house is named after the visionary monk Dom Pierre Pérignon, who lived at the Benedictine Monastery in Hautvillers in the 17th century. Legend has it that he aspired to create “the best wine in the world,” and in his pursuit of perfection, he developed techniques that contributed to the advancement of sparkling wine production as we know it today.

Dom Pierre Pérignon died in 1715, but the fruits of his Champagne revolution were carefully preserved and have formed the basis for descendants who, true to the pursuit of constant quality, carried on the house. Today, the house is managed by the world's largest luxury conglomerate LVMH Group, which is also behind Dom Ruinart, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton and Krug, among others.

Dom Pérignon only releases vintage Champagnes, meaning that their wines are produced exclusively from grapes of specially selected harvest years – and for Dom Pérignon, it’s only when the vintage quality is at its peak that the world is introduced to a new Dom Pérignon.

Read the full portrait of the Champagne house Dom Pérignon: Dom Perignon - The Monk, The Legend & The Wine

Price Corrections Offer Favorable Investment Opportunities

We first offered the 2008 Dom Pérignon for investment in January 2019, and its performance is illustrated in the chart below.

As the wine market (and most other markets) has experienced turbulence over the past year, prices have naturally seen some corrections. This means that the price of the 2008 Dom Pérignon is now 18% lower than it was a year ago…

But has the price hit bottom?

No one can definitively say, of course. However, Liv-ex has recently assessed the Dom Pérignon index. While Liv-ex’s technical indicators suggest that the current bear market is still influencing Dom Pérignon, the overall value of both bids and offerings for Dom Pérignon has been rising month over month recently.

Additionally, according to Liv-ex, there are vintage-specific pockets of relative stability for Dom Pérignon. For instance, the 2008 Dom Pérignon is the most traded wine of the year so far. Liv-ex also notes that the wine’s consistently narrow bid-ask spread has protected its price from significant fluctuations, allowing it to fall in line with the broader market and now reach a level of stability.

Dom Pérignon Performance | More Than Approved

As the chart above illustrates beautifully, the 2008 Dom Pérignon has experienced an impressive price journey since we first offered it for investment back in 2019 – even despite price corrections.

According to Liv-ex, the past ten vintages^* of Dom Pérignon that have been on the market for at least five years have delivered a five-year return of 56%. This translates to an average annual return of 9%, which, notably, also reflects the recent challenging market with price corrections.

*Vintages 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

The Next Great Champagne Vintage Is Taking Its Time

Truly exceptional Champagne vintages are rare, and there’s much to suggest that the next vintage with potential to stand among the greats may be 2019. According to Vinous, the 2019 vintage is the most serious since 2013. Serious, yes, but not nearly on par with the legendary 2008.

So, what does this mean? It means that vintages like 2002, 2008, 2012, and 2013 will likely attract the highest demand for a long time, as the first releases of the major prestige cuvées from 2019 aren’t expected for another 4-6 years.

Increased consumption, greater demand. And as we know, significant price increases typically begin when quantities in the market start to diminish.

RareWine Invest’s Opinion

When a Champagne carries a 2008 label, it automatically captures the attention of any wine enthusiast. And when such a Champagne is described as “the finest of the decade,” that attention becomes even more intense. There is no doubt, then, that the 2008 Dom Pérignon will always be an attractive choice for wine lovers, both today and in the future.

Even if it still cost €240, as it did a year ago, we would recommend it for investment. Currently, however, the market situation offers an opportunity to invest at a much lower price – the product remains exactly the same.

Add to this the fact that we can’t know when the next truly great Champagne vintage will arrive. We only know that the 2019 vintage is expected to be the next strong vintage Champagne can present. This simply means that, in the coming years, even more attention will be directed toward the best already available on the market: and here, 2008 is a standout.

If you’re one of those who already has the 2008 Dom Pérignon in your portfolio, this is an ideal opportunity to add more. If not, this is an attractive investment opportunity. Only a few bottles are available, so as always, it’s first-come, first-served.