Sunday, September 16, 2007

The Legend of the Dom Perignon

It all started almost two years ago. Fletcher had been working in the city for less than 6 months, but long enough to receive a very generous Christmas gift from a colleague - a bottle of 1998 Dom Perignon paired with two crystal flutes. The day that he received the gift he decided to come straight to my apartment and had left the gift box on the floor of my bedroom. I of course noticed its presence immediately and with great excitement inquired about it. He explained both how he got it and what his intentions were with it. My response was, "WHAT!!? You brought this extraordinarily expensive and romantic bottle of champagne to my bedroom (with 2 glasses included) and you want to bring it to a large party and just pop it open so that 10 of us can each have a sip!?!?" Clearly I had a very different vision for this special bottle of bubbly. I ended up shedding some tears and Fletcher ended up deciding to let me save it for a "special occasion."

Fast forward to six months later: The gift box had not left my bedroom, but it was time for me to move and more importantly, for Fletcher and I to move in together. I carefully hand carried the precious Dom to the front seat of my Uhaul rental truck and made sure that it found a safe spot in our new place. Shortly after we moved in we decided that the Dom would be more comfortable in the cool confines of the refrigerator instead of our sweltering "living area." With it carefully tucked away in our fridge we were one step closer to actually enjoying the prized bottle.

Then came a flurry of action including the purchase of essential furniture (couch and tv), the upgrading of refrigerators (our original one was definitely past its prime), and my first poker night with friends. Also, our 3 year anniversary was rapidly approaching and we thought it was a fitting time to open THE DOM. Soon after I went to check on it and, and... where was it?! It wasn't in the fridge where I had been assuming it was all along. It wasn't in the living area. It wasn't anywhere in the 370 square feet of our apartment. Where could it be?

We came to three possible conclusions.
  • It was left in the old fridge and put out on the curb for some passer-by to encounter and enjoy.
  • It was thrown away by one of us - full heavy bottle and beautiful label and all.
  • It was stolen by the "friend of the friend" who made an impromptu appearance at the poker party.
Whatever the cause, it was gone. I mourned the loss for weeks... make that months. How could the most luxurious, decadent, expensive and personally relevant bottle of wine just disappear?
No other bottle of wine had caused me to feel such mixed emotions of excitement and disappointment. It was gone and that was that...

Until this summer, now it was year and a half after the original gift had been made and I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. I happened to noticed that they had a bottle of the sacred DOM in their beverage refrigerator and it inspired me to tell them the story of my lost bottle of Dom.

At the end of the visit they handed me a bag and inside was their bottle of Dom. I was overwhelmed - thrilled to once again be in possession of the precious liquid, excited to finally get to share it with Fletcher, and overwhelmed by their generous act.

The story does not end there. I was on the west coast and needed to get the Dom back to NYC. Unfortunately the new air travel rules meant that I could take no more than a 3oz sample in my carry-on. Therefore I would have to let the Dom out my sight. I would have to check it. My parents, eager to see this story have a happy ending, helped me to fashion a special, cushioned box for which to transport the champagne.

It made the trip safely and was immediately put in a safe hiding place in my closet. I made a pact with myself. The Dom would not get comfortable nestled between my winter sweaters. Lessoned Learned: Carpe Diem! Or as Dottie and John would say - let the wine make the occasion. I would not try to find the perfect date and setting to unveil this bottle. It needed to be drunk before anything else bad could happen to it.

The night finally came last Friday. I suggested that we eat in and said I would find an affordable menu on my trip to Trader Joes that day. I found a pre-seasoned pork loin. Fletcher requested a green bean casserole (yes, the Campbell Mushroom Soup variety). The meal was rounded out by a simple couscous with pine nuts and scallions. I brought out the Dom and the
saga came to an end.... a very sweet and bubbly end.

Tasting Notes:
Beautiful light golden color. The bubbles were very fine. There was a sweetness at the beginning and a delicious nuttiness - toasted nuts - at the end.
It was a very good champagne. Would I spend $120 on it? No. But was it delicious? Yes.


4 comments:

carrie said...

i'm so happy you got to experience the dom!

carrie said...

oh, and i tagged you! go to my blog for the rules.

Katie and Yemi said...

I can't believe you finally got your Dom. I'm still waiting for you to move out and find it in your sock or something. ;)

Unknown said...

So glad you finally got your taste of it! :) And that all your clothes didn't smash it when they came tumbling down!