1955 Dom Pérignon,
to accompany dessert at a White House dinner planned for November 25, 1963
1955 was the archetype of the classical vintage that defines harmony in Champagne—maybe the greatest of the decade. Very energetic and racy, remarkably thorough, this wine is at the same time intense and profound. These qualities express the typical, intriguing paradox of youth versus maturity, combining to create a feeling of completeness. Right in the center, the fruit (sultana) is still very vibrant, with notes of vanilla, smoke and praline (sugar-coated almond).1
Full, vigorous colour. Fine, very concentrated and intense nose with nuances of cedar, dark chocolate and eastern tobacco, but a core of ripe, sweet blackberries. The palate has elegance with a wonderful minerality giving a very clean, vigorous impression. Rich, full and lovely to drink. Quite honest and powerful wine. It is not as exotic and stylish as 1947 or 1950, but has an excellent, long finish. Still has a fine future.2
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Danh Vō was born in Vietnam in 1975. In November 2012, Vō was announced the winner of the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize. In honor of this award a solo exhibition of Vo’s work opens on March 15, 2013 at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, and runs through May 27, 2013.
Recent solo exhibitions include Chung ga opla, Villa Medici, Rome, (2013); We the People, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, (2012); Uterus, The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Chicago (2012); Damnatio Memoriae, CCS Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (2012); Vō Danh, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz (2012); JULY, IV, MDCCLXXVI, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2011); Hip Hip Hurra, National Museum for Art, Copenhagen, Denmark (2010); Autoerotic Asphyxiation, Artists Space, New York (2010); Where the Lions Are, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel (2009); Les Fleurs d’Interieur, Kadist Art Foundation, Paris (2009). He will have solo exhibitions at the Museion in Bolzano and the ARC, Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, in May.
1 Geoffroy, Richard. “Back to the Fifties” Creating Dom Perignon.com, 20 February 2010. Web. 19 February 2013.
2 Nuikki, Pekka. “Comment on Dom Perignon 1955,” The Tasting Book.com, February 2012. Web. 19 February 2013.