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Bottle 3 — The Monk Who Fought the Bubbles
ShortsPublished 2026-09-26
Video coming soonThe bottle
The story in this episode
The third bottle at Bar Suda is Dom Pérignon 2008. The name comes from Pierre Pérignon, a 17th-century Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Hautvillers; the story that he invented Champagne is an exaggeration, and he is remembered as the man who set the standards for blending and grape selection. Dom Pérignon is only ever a vintage Champagne, made in good years alone. Richard Geoffroy, chef de cave for 28 years, called 2008 the 'miracle year': a summer of grey skies promised an ordinary vintage, then September turned miraculously clear and the harvest stretched over nearly a month. It was the first exact 50:50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir since 1990, spent about nine years on the lees, and became Geoffroy's last work. One critic described the bubbles in this monk-named bottle as a silky mousse.
