The short answer
The best Dom Perignon vintage by critic average is a tie: 2008 and 2018 both hold 98. They are not equally certain, though, and that is the part most rankings leave out. The 2008 average rests on six professional reviews; the 2018 rests on one. Behind them sit 1961 at 97.5, then 1952, 1975 and 2012 all at 97. We hold a critic average for 37 of the 43 declared years, and the spread across them is narrower than the reputations suggest: from 98 at the top to 90 at the bottom, eight points covering seven decades. A score alone will not tell you what to buy. Review count, drinking window and what the bottle actually costs decide that, and those three pull in different directions on almost every year in the ranking below.
Which is the best dom perignon vintage
By critic average, 2008 and 2018 tie at 98. The difference is confidence. The 2008 figure is an average of six professional reviews, the 2018 of one, and a single score is an opinion rather than a consensus. On the evidence we hold, 2008 is the stronger claim to the top of the list.
Below them the field is tight. 1961 sits at 97.5 from two reviews. Three years share 97: 1952 on one review, 1975 on three, and 2012 on five. Then 1996 at 96.7, which is the most heavily reviewed year in the whole set with 816 drinker ratings behind its 94.7 community score. Where a professional average rests on one or two notes, the drinker score is often the more reliable signal simply because there is more of it.
The full ranking, and what the numbers hide
We hold a critic average for 37 of the 43 declared years. The top ten by that measure are 2008 and 2018 at 98, 1961 at 97.5, then 1952, 1975 and 2012 at 97, 1996 at 96.7, 1964 and 1971 at 96.5, and 1985 at 96.3. The bottom of the range is 1978 at 90, with 1992 at 91 and 1993 at 91.3 just above it.
Eight points separate the best year from the worst across seven decades, which is a narrower band than the way these vintages get talked about would suggest. Part of that is survivorship: the years that get reviewed at all are the ones people still open. Six declared years carry no professional average in our record whatsoever, and their absence is not a verdict on the wine.
Score is not the same as what to buy
A drinking window changes the answer more than a decimal place does. The 1964 and 1966 both score 96.5 and 96, and both have recorded windows that closed in 2020. The 2006 scores lower at 95.7 but its window runs to 2056. If you are buying to drink rather than to collect, the lower-scoring year is the more useful bottle.
Price pulls the other way again. The 1969 carries a 96 average and a retail figure around 939 pounds; the 2004 carries 96.1, a window to 2042, and sits near 138 pounds. On score alone they are the same wine. On score per pound they are not remotely the same purchase.
How to read a ranking like this one
Check the review count before the score. Every figure here carries one, which is unusual for a vintage ranking and is the single most useful thing on the page. A 98 from one taster and a 98 from six are different claims about the same wine, and treating them as equal is how a list becomes decoration.
Then check when the number was recorded. Mature Champagne moves, and a score from a bottle opened in 2003 describes a wine that has had two more decades in glass since. Where we hold a drinking window, it is a better guide to whether a bottle is worth opening now than any score in the table.
Common questions
What is the best Dom Perignon vintage?
By critic average, 2008 and 2018 tie at 98. The 2008 figure rests on six professional reviews and the 2018 on one, so 2008 is the better supported claim.
Which Dom Perignon vintage is best value?
On score against price, the 2004 stands out: a 96.1 average, a drinking window to 2042, and a retail figure near 138 pounds. The 1969 scores 96 and sits near 939 pounds.
How many Dom Perignon vintages have been declared?
43 years appear in our record, and we hold a professional critic average for 37 of them. Six carry no professional average, which reflects how rarely they are reviewed rather than any judgement on the wine.
Is a higher scoring vintage always the better bottle?
No. Drinking window and price move the answer more than a decimal place. The 1964 scores 96.5 with a window that closed in 2020; the 2006 scores 95.7 with a window running to 2056.
Sources
- The Finest Bubble on the Dom Perignon declared vintages, checked 2026-08-29
- Glass of Bubbly guide to Dom Perignon vintage price values, checked 2026-08-29
Last updated 2026-08-29. Drafted with claude-opus-5, ranked from apps/parasite/data/dom-perignon.generated.json; sources verified by live fetch on 2026-08-29 against this site’s own price and critic data, then checked against the sources above. We do not put a human byline on copy a human did not write.