Dom Pérignon and Karl Lagerfeld Unveil the Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1996 in Pure Fashion Form

By Dara Silverstein

Well, the stars have certainly aligned favorably for the world’s largest Champagne house as it teamed up with the iconic Karl Lagerfeld to launch the Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1996. It’s going to be a year of beautiful bubbly as this spectacular vintage is sure to tempt your palate and your imagination-everything that a perfect glass of Champagne is supposed to represent.

The first bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé were bottled in 1959 and presented in 1971 at the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. Since then, this rare blend has attracted a stylish following among the ultra elite. The 1996 vintage was harvested in a year full of contrasts, creating a taste that begins sharply and ends on a slightly vanilla-spicy note. The coppery-pink color with light orange highlights, and the aroma of nectarine and wild strawberries helped Lagerfeld come with the color-scheme for the story line. “It is Dom Pérignon Rosé,” he said. “It has to be all very pastel and very pale so that you can see that the Champagne is pink, but also to create this, in fact, off-reality, poetic mood-a kind of poetic island in people’s life.”

Couture Campaign

One of the most influential designers and artists of all time, Lagerfeld has created a unique campaign, inspired by a modern-day fairy tale, to perfectly illustrate the romanticism that comes to mind when they think of Dom Pérignon Rosé. The story goes like this: Two beautiful strangers are in Paris, staying at one of the finest hotels. They are both alone. The woman (played by supermodel Eva Herzegovina) returns from a day of shopping and passes by a handsome man (Brad Koenig) in the hallway.

“Nobody knows who this young woman is or where she comes from,” Lagerfeld explains. “She is mysterious… She spends most of her time pampering herself: a manicure, pedicure, bath, and always with a glass of Dom Perignon Rose.” Next door to the woman’s suite is the room of the young man she passed in the hall. The woman has her chambermaid open their adjoining door and she enters with a bottle of Rose and two glasses. The man is drinking the same thing and their love affair begins.

“What makes their romance possible is Dom Pérignon Rosé,” says Lagerfeld. “The story tells how Dom Pérignon Rosé facilitates this kind of encounter.”

And quite a romantic encounter it is. Just watch the video for yourself at www.domperignon.com. After all, who doesn’t want a Parisian rendezvous with unlimited Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1996?