Dom Pérignon is marking the new year by launching a limited edition 1995 Vintage White Gold Jeroboam commemorative champagne, which debuted in the United States this fall.

By Valentina Zuric

Seven years into the millennium, champagne has never been more admired. Is there a better way to celebrate 2008 during an evening atop the Space Needle, fireworks at the Pyramids, or a midnight meal at La Tour d’Argent? There is now, thanks to Dom Pérignon’s new gold-plated bubbly. First introduced to the rich and famous during their exploits and escapades on the edge of the Côte d’Azur (a fantastic summer getaway), this fine champagne was paired immaculately with celebrations attended by celebrities, models, and moguls alike, all with a common taste for the finer things in life.

In the 1980s, Dom Pérignon aficionados would purchase a regular-size bottle of this niche gourmet champagne in order to make a lasting impression. Yet today, it has to be even bigger and hauter, with the most discerning connoisseurs begging to be pleased. And they will with Dom Pérignon’s introduction of its 1995 Vintage Jeroboam, a sleek beauty of white gold that exudes elegance and pure indulgence.

Representing a meeting between the sensual and sublime in legendary champagne, the renowned house of Dom Pérignon knows elegance when it sees it. By combining a rare blend of luxury, the company is taking its offer beyond the famed Hotel Byblos in St. Tropez, where for 12,000 euros, you can experience the world’s most expensive champagne, as it begs to be conspicuously consumed. The hotel holds only 10 bottles of this exclusive luxury, and club-goers experience a fine ritual that comes along with purchasing such opulence: The club’s lights dim, the first notes of the “James Bond” theme start to play, and, suddenly, champagne emerges, accompanied by fire and sparklers. And don’t think your quest to fight off thirsty supermodels is over; this exclusive vintage debuted the United States this fall.

Exquisitely balanced with notes of brioche and honey, which mingle with fresh almond and apricot, the champagne has a deep, intricate flavor that yearns for a fitting display. The bottle’s design is sought after but never ostentatious, and has been compared by some to “a haute couture gown endlessly gliding down the red carpet.” Its modern design boasts an engraving of the Dom Pérignon crest, wrapped in a sheath jacket of white gold (by Chaumet, of course).

The jeroboams are going for 1.26 million yen (about $11,005 a bottle) at The Matsuzakaya Department Store in Nagoya’s Sakae-ku; the coveted treasure for Dom Pérignon lovers and luxury collectors alike is part of a rigorously limited group of 100 bottles available worldwide. With one elaborately wrapped bottle already sold at Matsuzakaya, 20 have been slotted to be sold in Japan, with others costing upwards of $40,000 in nightclubs in the United States.

The perfect accompaniment-beyond intimate candle lighting-for any fine-dining experience, whether it is lobster or caviar, though perfectly delectable on its own, is an alluring glass of Dom Pérignon. The new, record-breaking bottle is paired perfectly with the delicate ambrosia, its smoky overtones rounding out the vintage’s unique flavor, which lingers with a pure, mineral, fruity note. With the effervescent elegance of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1995, this white gold jeroboam remains an item to treasure long after the final drop has been poured.