We design an aesthetic. We design vintages. We are in essence Wine Designers – Richard Geoffroy, the outgoing Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave.
Dom Pérignon, the vintage brand of Champagne produced by the Champagne house Moët & Chandon is entering a new dawn. On January 1st 2019 there will be a changing of the guard for the prestige brand as Richard Geoffroy is succeeded by Vincent Chaperon as the new Dom Pérignon Chef de Cave.
The Chef de Cave is the custodian of the Champagne. A French term meaning ‘cellarmaster’ or ‘head winemaker’, the Chef de Cave guarantees the vision that has always made Dom Pérignon unique. A vision of creative ambition, a continuously reinterpreted quest, the quest for harmony as a source of emotion.
It is this vision that flows through and embodies the sum of all the vintages, both past and future.
Geoffroy has been Chef de Cave at Dom Pérignon for a staggering 28 years. The latter of those 13 years have been spent extending his knowledge, mastery and the intangible heritage of Dom Pérignon creation to his successor, Vincent Chaperon.
During his 28-year residency, Geoffroy has expanded, enriched, refined and shared the universe of Dom Pérignon experiences like never before. His explorations have seen pairings with Japanese cuisine through to collaborations with global culinary luminaries such as Alain Ducasse, Ferran Adrià or Jean-François Piège.
He has even taken the Champagne house into the world of art, working with artists renowned for their creativity, including David Lynch, Lang Lang, Lenny Kravitz and Jeff Koons. The latter of which was convinced by Geoffroy to create an iridescent champagne bottle-holder inspired by Koons’ Balloon Venus sculpture.
Geoffroy’s legacy has seen Dom Pérignon push the boundaries from its haven in France’s Sainte-Menehould, opening new horizons and expanding worlds. Such is the extent of his influence on the creative heritage of Dom Pérignon, he has himself become a pillar of its construction.
So to Vincent Chaperon – Chaperon has worked with Richard Geoffroy since 2005, during which time he 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.
We are told that Chaperon is guided by a passion as observant as it is reasoned. He brings with him a winemaker’s sensitivity and commitment to progress. In recent years he has initiated bold explorations of Dom Pérignon and its creative heritage. Today it is these initiatives that have begun to inform the knowledge, perception, vision and experience of the future of Dom Pérignon.
Vincent Chaperon’s task is simple in theory, but remarkably challenging in execution. Chaperon will take responsibility for pursuing the Dom Pérignon quest. A quest that 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 dêtre of Dom Pérignon, guiding it into the future.
The future of the next wine designer is very much in session and we at Aglaia Magazine wish him all the best.
Edward Lumley is Editor-in-Chief for Of Wealth & Life and a Freelance Men’s Fashion Writer. Edward has written for publications such as FashionBeans, Harrods and a variety of online outlets specialising in Men’s fashion for the past eight years. Follow Edward on Instagram.
