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- 2018-06-14
- Dom Pérignon
Transmission from Vincent Chaperon to Richard Geoffroy
On January 1, 2019 Vincent Chaperon will become the new Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave. He succeeds Richard Geoffroy, with whom he has been working closely since 2005.
This transmission is a compelling milestone in the history of Dom Pérignon, embodying a living heritage. A special day on June 13, 2018 will spotlight the profound vibrancy of this transition, underscoring the symbolic and human resonance of the event.
TRANSMISSION AND CREATION: CELEBRATING CONTINUITY.
NEW CYCLE
On June 13, 2018 Richard Geoffroy will be joined by two essential figures in his journey: Vincent Chaperon, who will succeed him, and Dominique Foulon, who he himself succeeded. Dominique Foulon was Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave for 15 years. Richard Geoffroy has held the role for 28 years. Now Vincent Chaperon will inaugurate a new cycle at the beginning of 2019.
SHARED VISION
These three generations of Chefs de Cave are the custodians who guarantee the vision that has always made Dom Pérignon unique: a creative ambition, a continuously reinterpreted quest, the quest for harmony as a source of emotion. This vision is embodied in sum of all the vintages, both past and future.
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CREATION
Each vintage constitutes a singular act of transmission and creation. The two are indivisible, intimately interlinked. Transmitting by recreating… recreating by transmitting. This ongoing dynamic figures at the heart of each Dom Pérignon vintage, imparting stability, fluidity and serenity to the Dom Pérignon project. It represents the essence of the passing of the torch on June 13, 2018. After having guided Vincent Chaperon along this extended path to knowledge and mastery, Richard Geoffroy is ready to pass on this intangible heritage of Dom Pérignon creation to his successor.
RICHARD GEOFFROY, ACROBATIC AUDACITY
Each vintage constitutes a singular act of transmission and creation. The two are indivisible, intimately interlinked. Transmitting by recreating… recreating by transmitting. This ongoing dynamic figures at the heart of each Dom Pérignon vintage, imparting stability, fluidity and serenity to the Dom Pérignon project. It represents the essence of the passing of the torch on June 13, 2018. After having guided Vincent Chaperon along this extended path to knowledge and mastery, Richard Geoffroy is ready to pass on this intangible heritage of Dom Pérignon creation to his successor.
RICHARD GEOFFROY, ACROBATIC AUDACITY
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AMBITIOUS
Between 1990 and 2009 Richard Geoffroy declared no fewer than 15 vintages in the cellars of Dom Pérignon, expressing the creative ambitions of the Maison and its unwavering commitment to an aesthetic ideal. Faithful to the vision of Dom Pérignon, he has explored its potential with bold aptness and elegance to reveal unexpected facets and reshape the vocabulary. He has applied his extraordinary talent like a high-wire acrobat above the terroir of Champagne, inventing where others were content to repeat.
By constantly taking risks throughout the elaboration process like a true artist, Richard Geoffroy opted to push the fruit to its ultimate maturity, thus obtaining the precious matter he sought and allowing him to honor Dom Pérignon’s commitment to “always a vintage wine”. His interpretations of the Dom Pérignon vision also gave birth to the creation of the Plénitudes (Vintage, P2, P3) and their vocation: express the successive plateaus of a champagne as it matures.
EXPLORER
Under the banner “Drinking Stars”, Richard Geoffroy has expanded, enriched, refined and shared the universe of Dom Pérignon experiences as never before. His explorations have encompassed pairings with Japanese cuisine, deconstructed traditional menus, pure and sometimes brut dialogue with mono-products from around the world, collaborations with global culinary luminaries such as Alain Ducasse, Ferran Adrià or Jean-François Piège, as well as artists renowned for their creativity, including David Lynch, Jeff Koons, Lang Lang and Lenny Kravitz.
Pushing the envelope, opening new horizons, expanding worlds… Richard Geoffroy’s contribution to the creative heritage of Dom Pérignon has itself become a pillar of its construction.
VINCENT CHAPERON, A PASSION FOR NEW DIRECTIONS
Between 1990 and 2009 Richard Geoffroy declared no fewer than 15 vintages in the cellars of Dom Pérignon, expressing the creative ambitions of the Maison and its unwavering commitment to an aesthetic ideal. Faithful to the vision of Dom Pérignon, he has explored its potential with bold aptness and elegance to reveal unexpected facets and reshape the vocabulary. He has applied his extraordinary talent like a high-wire acrobat above the terroir of Champagne, inventing where others were content to repeat.
By constantly taking risks throughout the elaboration process like a true artist, Richard Geoffroy opted to push the fruit to its ultimate maturity, thus obtaining the precious matter he sought and allowing him to honor Dom Pérignon’s commitment to “always a vintage wine”. His interpretations of the Dom Pérignon vision also gave birth to the creation of the Plénitudes (Vintage, P2, P3) and their vocation: express the successive plateaus of a champagne as it matures.
EXPLORER
Under the banner “Drinking Stars”, Richard Geoffroy has expanded, enriched, refined and shared the universe of Dom Pérignon experiences as never before. His explorations have encompassed pairings with Japanese cuisine, deconstructed traditional menus, pure and sometimes brut dialogue with mono-products from around the world, collaborations with global culinary luminaries such as Alain Ducasse, Ferran Adrià or Jean-François Piège, as well as artists renowned for their creativity, including David Lynch, Jeff Koons, Lang Lang and Lenny Kravitz.
Pushing the envelope, opening new horizons, expanding worlds… Richard Geoffroy’s contribution to the creative heritage of Dom Pérignon has itself become a pillar of its construction.
VINCENT CHAPERON, A PASSION FOR NEW DIRECTIONS
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COMMITED
Since he began working alongside Richard Geoffroy in 2005, Vincent Chaperon has taken part in thirteen harvests and declared four vintages with him. They are, in the order in which they were declared, the 2005, 2006, 2009 and, most recently, 2008. Avid for lesser traveled paths and guided by a passion as observant as it is reasoned, Vincent Chaperon brings to the Dom Pérignon project his winemaker’s sensitivity and commitment to progress. In recent years he has initiated bold explorations of Dom Pérignon and its creative heritage. Today, these initiatives have begun to inform the knowledge, perception, vision and experience of Dom Pérignon in inventive and unprecedented ways that are already inspiring the future.
Throughout these past 13 years of intensive and close collaboration, Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon have nurtured continuous dialogue between their two approaches, as if they had been chosen through some predestined plan. Ultimately, beyond any attempt to simplify this alchemy, there is some of Richard Geoffroy in Vincent Chaperon, and some of Vincent Chaperon in Richard Geoffroy.
From January 1, 2019, Vincent Chaperon will take responsibility for pursuing the Dom Pérignon quest. This entails three essential missions: take charge of the material legacy of existing vintages, embody the vision of Dom Pérignon and the intangible heritage passed on by Richard Geoffroy, and last but not least, carry on the commitment to vintages that defines the soul and raison d’être of Dom Pérignon, guiding it into the future.
COLLABORATION
Since he began working alongside Richard Geoffroy in 2005, Vincent Chaperon has taken part in thirteen harvests and declared four vintages with him. They are, in the order in which they were declared, the 2005, 2006, 2009 and, most recently, 2008. Avid for lesser traveled paths and guided by a passion as observant as it is reasoned, Vincent Chaperon brings to the Dom Pérignon project his winemaker’s sensitivity and commitment to progress. In recent years he has initiated bold explorations of Dom Pérignon and its creative heritage. Today, these initiatives have begun to inform the knowledge, perception, vision and experience of Dom Pérignon in inventive and unprecedented ways that are already inspiring the future.
Throughout these past 13 years of intensive and close collaboration, Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon have nurtured continuous dialogue between their two approaches, as if they had been chosen through some predestined plan. Ultimately, beyond any attempt to simplify this alchemy, there is some of Richard Geoffroy in Vincent Chaperon, and some of Vincent Chaperon in Richard Geoffroy.
From January 1, 2019, Vincent Chaperon will take responsibility for pursuing the Dom Pérignon quest. This entails three essential missions: take charge of the material legacy of existing vintages, embody the vision of Dom Pérignon and the intangible heritage passed on by Richard Geoffroy, and last but not least, carry on the commitment to vintages that defines the soul and raison d’être of Dom Pérignon, guiding it into the future.
COLLABORATION
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This passing of the torch coincides with the declaration of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008, the culmination of the collaboration between Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon. It recounts a shared vision, a fruitful dialogue between two exceptional talents and nature. Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 revisits the archetype of vintage champagne to a degree that could be termed a “paradoxical new classic”, drawing on the best of the two winemakers’ approaches with complementary mutual understanding, blending Richard’s sophisticated and comprehensive knowledge with Vincent’s audacious intuition.
PASSING THE TORCHE
An event such as this could not have hoped for a more brilliant showcase, making the expression “passing the torch” more apropos than ever for Dom Pérignon.
On June 13, 2018, Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon will each bear witness to the other’s exceptional skill, just as they have worked together for the past 13 years to ensure that each vintage is elegant testimony to everything that makes Dom Pérignon unique.
PASSING THE TORCHE
An event such as this could not have hoped for a more brilliant showcase, making the expression “passing the torch” more apropos than ever for Dom Pérignon.
On June 13, 2018, Richard Geoffroy and Vincent Chaperon will each bear witness to the other’s exceptional skill, just as they have worked together for the past 13 years to ensure that each vintage is elegant testimony to everything that makes Dom Pérignon unique.
