22 champagne
Peaks of perfection Film-maker David Lynch knows about high art forms and applied his knowledge to his favourite Dom Pérignon vintages
The more I learned about the process of making Dom Pérignon, the more I appreciated that taste and what separates it from other champagnes. It’s a high art form. I went to the Abbey where it all started and met Richard Geoffroy, the cellar master, who does the blends. He’s also an experimenter, an artist. He told me many stories about how it all comes together. If the blend doesn’t reach a certain taste perfection, then they don’t put it out that year, so it’s a very beautiful thing when they get it just right. It’s a big eureka. Lots of knowledge, time and experimentation goes into that taste. I wasn’t aware of that before and I think most people aren’t. They think one champagne is the same as another. They’re not. It is nothing short of a miracle each time the two classic Dom Pérignon grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, are blended together. You cannot predict the outcome; it is through fine-tuning that the black and white grapes find their mysterious harmony. It’s a creation thing. Mother Nature supplies many different grapes from many, many different fields. The art and the creation come in when knowing the right amount, and which ones to put together to get this taste. Ideas are enormous gifts and when an idea or several ideas come together, it’s a beautiful day. Ideas come from all over the place. They can come from people, places,
things, from daydreaming, from walking down the street, whistling, painting, making music… Recently, I spent two days in a darkroom in California, exploring the world of the Dom Pérignon bottle. We created stories and experimented with welding torches, crystal, light, smoke. At the end of the two days I had realised my vision for the label. Ideas can come from anywhere and when you least expect it. Music conjures a lot of ideas for me. I like to listen to different types of music and see what comes out. Most ideas, when they come, it’s like turning on a television or movie projector in your brain. They just go onto the screen. And they go on in a pop. You can write several pages from what happens in that pop. You write those ideas down so you won’t forget them, then you stay true to that idea. A thing is not finished until it’s finished. You stay on your toes and you stay true to the ideas. Q David Lynch created a limited-edition bottle and box for the Dom Pérignon Vintage 2003 and Rosé Vintage 2000 blends, available at fine wine purveyors; domperignon.com; davidlynch.de David Lynch, the sui generis director behind the films Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, is also known for his artwork, photography and musical collaborations. His first solo album, Crazy Clown Time, is available now
Ideas come from anywhere and when you least expect it