Texan Magazine
By Jim Peterson
Wine Writer, Wine Collector & Instagram Wine Influencer
As graduation ceremonies and weddings fill the summer calendar, I want to introduce you to a type of champagne that can encompass luxury, history, and meaning in a single bottle. I’m talking about the rare genre of “late-disgorged” champagne. If you are not familiar with that term, you are not alone. It may need some explanation, but once you “get it” you quickly understand these wines are far from ordinary champagnes. They deliver a sophisticated sip of history that can mark milestone events in a way no other bottles can.
WHAT DOES LATE-DISGORGED MEAN?
To answer that question, let’s briefly recap how champagne is made. Champagne starts as a still wine, but it goes through a second fermentation in the bottle where the Carbon Dioxide (or CO2) is trapped and dissolves into the wine, and this creates the bubbles. Along the way, dead yeast cell deposits from the second fermentation settle in the bottle. These are called “lees” and while they are still there the champagne is “resting on the lees.” Eventually, producers move these lees into the neck of the bottle through a process called “riddling” that turns the bottles downward. The riddling creates sediment “plugs” in the neck of the bottle. These are usually quick-frozen and removed in a step called disgorgement where the pressure simply blows out the sediment. This is usually done mechanically, but it is fun to witness manual disgorgement. I have seen this a few times during Champagne tours, and sipping a glass of bubbles from that same bottle leaves an indelible memory. All champagnes require disgorgement before the cork and cage are placed to get them ready for you to enjoy.
For vintage champagne, the minimum requirement to age on the lees is three years. Many producers extend that to eight or more years before they disgorge the wines and release their vintage wines to the market. However, some producers hold back a small portion of the overall production for extended aging on the lees. That is, they delay the disgorgement to create a unique version of the same wine. The length of extra aging can vary greatly. The longest aged late-disgorged champagne I have tasted was the 1971 Piper-Heidsieck Hors-Série, not disgorged until 2021 – an incredible 50 years after the vintage! It was fresh and delicious.
Madame Lily Bollinger is credited with popularizing these types of champagne. In 1967 Bollinger released their R.D. 1952 vintage. The “R.D.” stands for Récemment Dégorgé, or “recently disgorged” and represented a signature style no other house was promoting. Champagne Specialist Gina Lyons, owner of Sarasota Wine Co. and A Vine Affair, describes the style this way, “Late-disgorged champagne is so compelling because it captures something genuinely rare: the layered complexity of extended aging alongside the freshness, tension, and lift that comes from later disgorgement. That interplay is what makes these wines feel both luxurious and intellectually exciting.”
DISCOVERING LATE-DISGORGED CHAMPAGNES
When the building interest for the Bollinger R.D. wines became apparent, other Champagne Houses began their own experimentation. While I have tasted a few vintages of Bollinger R.D., most of my experience is with the Dom Perígnon Plénitude wines. Most people are familiar with the readily accessible Dom Perígnon vintage wines with the iconic green label. Less known are the Plénitude 2 and Plénitude 3 releases (more commonly known as P2 and P3), with black and gold labels respectively. These represent a fraction of the overall vintage production, and they have two separate late-disgorged dates. The P2 can be disgorged 15-20 years after the vintage, while the P3 can take up to 30 years before it is released.
I recently attended a six-vintage vertical tasting of P2 to celebrate the newly released, and highly anticipated 2008 P2. To compare, we also tasted the 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002, and 2000 P2 vintages. The Dom Perígnon chef de caves (cellar master), Vincent Chaperon, led us through this Masterclass. He noted that champagne aging on the lees yields deeper complexity, more vibrancy, and it tends to be fresher than an original release when tasted side-by-side because aging on the lees slows the oxidation. My favorite wine that night was the stellar 2008 P2, which is not surprising given that 2008 was a spectacular vintage for Champagne. What did surprise me was how different the 2008 tasted from when I had first tasted it four months earlier while visiting Champagne. Sometimes champagne needs a little time after disgorgement to settle down. Once disgorged, champagne begins to age a bit more quickly. Just like red or white wine, champagne will evolve and change over the years. I almost always look to see if I can find the disgorgement date on the back of a bottle. It can be a good indicator for how the wine should taste.
What is a typical late-disgorgement date? Let’s take a closer look at the 2008 Dom Perígnon. The initial release spent about nine years on the lees before disgorgement. Meanwhile, the 2008 P2 had about 16 years on the lees, or an extra seven years to further develop. Meanwhile, the extremely rare 1995 Dom Perígnon P3 was disgorged and released in 2025, after almost 30 years of aging on the lees. This is why these bottles are so special and rare. This is also why collectors are willing to pay extra to acquire them. How much extra? It depends on the producer, of course, but the new vintage of 2017 Dom Perígnon might be about $250. The retail price for 2004 P2 or 2006 P2 is about $550. The 1995 P3 is so rare that you are likely to pay $4,000 or more (assuming you can even find it).
Some other well-known late-disgorged vintage champagne options include the Roederer Cristal Vinothèque, Krug Collection, Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Collection, Dom Ruinart La Réserve, and the Veuve Clicquot Cave Privée. Meanwhile some producers have begun experimenting with late-disgorged non-vintage champagne. A few examples include Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle Les Réserves, Jacquesson dégorgement tardif, and Gosset 21 ans de cave a minima. Most wine lovers know these wines were delicious when they were originally released, so it’s fair to ask: Why should I pay a premium for a late-disgorged version of a wine that was great already? It’s a great question!
WHY LATE-DISGORGED CHAMPAGNE?
Before we dive into that question, it’s worth noting why these wines are so rare. I mean, if they are so good, why isn’t everyone doing it? That has to do with the reality of economics and storage space. It takes a big investment from Champagne Houses to hold back these wines, and not all of them can easily afford to give up that early revenue. When you can find them, though, there are some outstanding reasons to give them a try. As Gina says, “For me, late-disgorged champagne represents the most convincing kind of luxury: real rarity, real pedigree, and a wine that delivers both emotional significance and extraordinary complexity in the glass. Clients are often amazed by how a wine with so much age can remain so precise and energetic.”
In my opening I mentioned how these wines can set the mood for celebrating milestone events. This is especially true if your loved one was lucky enough to be born in a vintage year for Champagne. As a collector of birth year wines for my two sons, I know this firsthand. My older son was born in 2001 where no vintage champagne was made. Meanwhile, my younger son has all the advantages of the fantastic 2004 vintage. What are your chances? In my personal collection I have late-disgorged champagnes from 1989, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. That’s not to brag about it. It’s just to show that with a little luck, planning, and the willingness to spend, the possibilities are there.
We are entering the season of graduations and summer weddings. Sharing a birth year wine is an amazing way to celebrate with your loved one. Gina says it beautifully, “I love them for gifting and cellar additions because they can be deeply personal, unique birth-year, or milestone bottles that still feel vibrant, elegant, and celebratory.” If you are older like me, that same approach can be used for benchmark years like graduations, first-dates, or weddings. It’s the perfect way to highlight a momentous occasion.
A FINAL TOAST
I will never get over the fact that late-disgorged champagne does more than transcend celebrations. It transforms them. With the unparalleled fusion of profound depth, youthful vitality, and decades of patient evolution, these wines offer something truly singular: They are a living connection to a specific moment in time, worthy of being opened on life’s most meaningful occasions. Whether it’s a wedding, a graduation, or a milestone anniversary, a late-disgorged champagne doesn’t just honor the moment – it elevates it. You’re tasting a glass of history, luxury, and joy that feels as fresh and alive as the future it toasts. For those seeking to create unforgettable memories, there are few bottles more worthy of life’s greatest moments.
Follow Jim on Instagram, @tx_wine_pilot, for more wine tips and reviews.
Biography:
Jim Peterson is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who mainly flew the A-10 fighter jet. He has ties to the wine business going back over 25 years, has visited many wine regions, tasted the world’s top wines, and is an avid wine collector. His business, The Texas Wine Pilot, offers customized in-home wine tastings, corporate wine tastings, executive wine training, a wine concierge service, and wine collecting consultations. Visit txwinepilot.com or email him at jim@txwinepilot.com for more information.
