Taking 16 years to mature into one of the finest bottles of bubbly ever produced, the P2 is wholly befitting of its name as Dom Perignon's crowning achievement.
The best word to describe the covetable champagne that is Dom Perignon’s P2 is energy.
Taking 16 years to mature into one of the finest bottles of bubbly ever to be produced, the label’s second plentitude is a magnification of a vintage’s articulation and exemplification of the mastery of their craft.
Plenitude is a term that Dom Perignon uses internally, and now publically, to distinguish their different levels of their wine aging process. The current release from their 1998 harvest is the 2004 vintage, marking their first plenitude, which according to their policy typically takes around seven to nine years. The second plenitude, the P2, happens another 10 years or so and the third takes place in another decade, but the length of the times is subject to nature and the cellar master.
To introduce this impressive champagne to Malaysia, the prestigious label flew down their Chef de Cuisine, Pascal Tingaud to whip up a meal that perfectly complimented their crowning achievement.
Dom Perignon Chef de Cuisine Pascal Tingaud
Tingaud is an accomplished and respected Michelin starred chef who used to cook for former French President Giscard d’Estaing at the Elysée Palace. He holds many accolades under his belt and has the knowledge and technical mastery to determine what foods would best accompany the P2. He focuses on respecting the authenticity of his ingredients combined with his skill and creativity to produce fine culinary fare.
Here are some of the highlights of our conversation with this acclaimed gastronome:
How did you go about figuring the types of foods that would compliment the P2?
We taste the P2 with Richard Geoffroy (Dom Perignon Cellar Master) and after discovering all our emotion with the champagne, we try to find the style of food to match with it. We really discover the style of P2 and we try to find foods with a lot of energy, like the curry that we tasted today. The energy and the precision of the wine goes well with the curry, while its creaminess and the warm spiciness of the curry has similar precision to the wine.
In your opinion, what are the highlights of the P2?
Energy and vibrancy. You are sampling a 16-year-old wine, like me in the company, very young and I hope I am like the wine.
What types of foods unlock and elevate the P2’s tasting notes?
There are many kinds of foods but there isn’t particularly one kind of food. Energy, saltiness, aroma and the texture are important. We play with textures as well and not only on the aromas as the P2 to me is the right harmony between P3 and Dom Perignon 2004, it really is the ultimate of Dom Perignon.
What cuisines do you think would work well with the P2?
Mexican and Peruvian. It’s really funny but the chili and with the mole (traditional dark chocolate base sauce with chili) works well due to its energy that is on the same level.
Guineafowl with ginger red curry paired with P2 1998
What are a few rules that you must not break when choosing food to pair with champagne, or in this case, the P2?
The most important is the saltiness. You need to add a little bit of salt, you need to give a lot of flow when you cook but you need some salt to enhance the aromas. If you feel that something doesn’t match when you try to cook something with Dom Perignon, just take a little bit of salt or soy sauce and you will see the wine in a different way. That’s really the most important.
When doing food pairings, are both the stars of the show supposed to be the alcohol and the food? Or does one play a more significant role than the other?
The wine is the star of the show. The food is only the supporting cast and it’s really to showcase the wine. That is our way of doing food pairing.
How would you best enjoy a bottle of P2?
With my girlfriend. For me, I think that the important part is with the people you drink it with. You have to share it and you cannot drink it alone. It is like when you cook, as you do it for the people you like and the people you love.
(Photos: Dom Perignon)
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