Moët & Chandon Brut Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon 2006

98 points Falstaff: "Light yellow-green, silver hues, fresh, persistent mousse. Scented floral notes, fresh tangerine and orange zest, unobtrusive toasted aromas, nutty touch. Full-bodied, elegant, white peach nuances, mineral, finely expressive, lingers, delicate aftertaste of mocha and nuts. A multi-faceted food companion. (11/25/16)"

97 points James Suckling: " This is very lively and vibrant with a dense and rich center palate. Lots of complexity and balance with pastry, sliced lemon and light dried mango. Full yet racy and intense. A beautiful center palate. Linear. Shows potential for aging but so good right now. (12/5/16)"

97 points Richard Juhlin (Decanter): "Yet another masterpiece created by Richard Geoffroy. Unmistakable Dom Pérignon style with unparalleled silkiness throughout the palate. The mousse is worthy of its own chapter and the elegance is striking. Nice minerality and floral notes with citrus overtones. Slightly short now, but time will fill in the small gaps in the beginning of life. This time it tasted intensely toasty and fairly close to the 1983 when I tasted that vintage for the first time at the same age as the 2004 is now. Drinking Window: 2014-2030. (Sep 2014)"

96+ points Jeb Dunnuck: "A wine that surpassing the 2000, the 2006 Dom Perignon offers beautiful stone fruits, toasted hazelnuts, citrus blossom, and brioche. It shows the richer side of the 2006 vintage with plenty of richness, yet it has bright acidity, a tight, reserved style, and a great finish, it just needs time. Drink: 2023-2043. (2/15/18)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "Powerful, dense and tightly wound, the 2006 Dom Pérignon is fabulous today. To be sure, the 2006 is a broad, virile Champagne, but I find it compelling because of its phenolic depth and overall intensity. Chef de Caves Richard Geoffroy adds that August was quite cold and wet, and that ripening only happened at the very end of the growing season. Although numbers alone can never explain a wine, I find it interesting that the 2006 has more phenolics than the 2003. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2006 is easily the most reticent Dom Pérignon in the years spanning 2002 and 2009. I am confident the 2006 will have its day, but in its youth, it is not especially charming or easy to drink. Drink: 2026-2056. (Jul 2018)"

96 points Stephan Reinhardt (Wine Advocate): "The 2006 Dom Pérignon comes from a very rich vintage with an early ripeness that brought a lot of aromatic maturity. The white-golden prestige cuvée contains a bit more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir and opens with a deep and seductive, pretty accessible nose with intense yet fresh fruit aromas of pineapples, with peaches and tangerines. Lively and elegant on the palate, this is a full-bodied, unusually aromatic and fruity DP with a long and tension-filled expression. Drink: 2016-2041. (Jun 2016)"

94-96 points Essi Avellan, MW: "Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy is at ease, even exited about Champagne’s warming vintages for Dom Pérignon. He is not shy to demonstrate a broader scope of vintage expressions being increasingly comfortable at extremes. The 2006 is a bold and ripe Dom Pérignon full of exuberant tropical fruit and vanilla notes, topped up with the hallmark fragrant, gunpowder and toast character. It has a broad, rich mid-palate and a truly dry, salient finish with a phenolic touch of a ripe year. The fruitiness is polished and bright and there is fine, balanced freshness to it. This vintage is built to last, it is still tight but packed with fleshy fruitiness. 94 points today with potential for 96 points. (Sep 2017)"

95 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(55% pinot noir, 45% chardonnay; 6g/L dosage). Immediately and unmistakably Dom, 2006 is a vintage that juxtaposes the smoky, flinty, gunpowder and grilled toast reduction that defines Dom, with a charge of tense, strong acidity, presented with a magnitude and generosity bolstered by a warm, dry vintage of scorching July and summery September. In the aftermath of the season, a touch of phenolic bitterness leaves a little firmness on the finish. A medium-straw hue proclaims its vibrancy even after 10 years, and a flattering succulence calms and contrasts its drying grip. The rumbling exuberance of a decade in the deep has evolved spicy, primary lemon and apple fruit into molten wax, brioche, gingernut biscuits, even the beginnings of coffee and dark chocolate. There is an extroverted confidence to 2006 which charges Dom with a larger-than-life, room-filling personality, toned with just the right level of acidity to keep the finish admirably determined and well defined. This is a Dom that will stand out and turn heads, though not forever -- a vintage at its finest in the short to medium term. (2018-2019)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "A graceful, minerally version, featuring rich notes of smoke, mandarin orange peel and chalk that lead to subtle accents of crème de cassis, toasted almond, espresso and star anise on the fine, creamy mousse. Seamlessly knit, with citrusy acidity leaving a mouthwatering impression on the finish. Drink now through 2031. (3/31/16)"

*** Peter Liem (ChampagneGuide.net): "A superb release from Dom Pérignon, this is rich in texture and concentrated in depth, yet it’s less overtly muscular than the 2005, showing a more graceful poise and more filigreed structure. At the same time, it’s clearly built for the long haul, with its firm acidity and reserved, reductive character, and while it’s already complex, it promises to become much more so with time. Last tasted: 11/15."