Luxury brands have set their sights on Barcelona. A few weeks after Louis Vuitton's fashion show in Parc Güell, it is now the turn of Dom Pérignon, from the same business group, the French conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH), the world leader in luxury, to land. The champagne brand has chosen the Catalan capital to celebrate Révélations, the annual gathering where it unveils its new vintages.
A private meeting that will take place this Monday and Tuesday at Ricardo Bofill's La Fábrica. "It's a very Dom Pérignon place," says its chef de cave, Vincent Chaperon, "there's a lot of radicality, light playing everywhere, tension between cement and vegetation... all of this corresponds to what we do." A total of 140 guests will enter this architectural gem in Sant Just Desvern, not very accessible to residents.
Barcelona's Révélations will be the only one Dom Pérignon, LVMH's highest-level champagnes, which also includes Moët & Chandon, will organize this year. With three editions behind it, the first gala was held in 2021 and was virtual due to the pandemic. A year later, it was in-person, with an invitation to the abbey where champagne was born. Last year it was split between Venice and Kyoto. These annual meetings were conceived by Chaperon when he took office in 2018, to reveal a bit of the creation process of their sparkling wines: "They are our fashion week." Chaperon, an oenologist and agricultural engineer from a winemaking family, joined Dom Pérignon in 1999 and has spent his entire professional life at the same company.
With guests from all over the world, brand ambassadors who can be chefs, sommeliers, journalists or artists, the brand will present Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015 and Dom Pérignon Vintage 2006 Plénitude 2, but will also take the opportunity to explain how they fared in 2023. It has not been an easy year, with bad climatic conditions that gave them very abundant harvests and grapes that were too large, diluting the texture and feel that one of their champagnes should have: "Last year we failed. Dom Pérignon is to be or not to be. Sometimes, we succeed, other times, we fail," explains Chaperon.
But this year there will be a novelty. Not only will the exclusive Révélations be held, but Dom Pérignon has decided to open up to the public by organizing for the first time an exhibition that will explain this process in the vineyards of Champagne. "It was frustrating not to be able to share it beyond the guests," says the chef de cave.
With free admission, it can be seen at Palau Martorell from Wednesday to Sunday. Photographs and drawings will review the path followed by Chaperon and his team during a demanding 2023, accompanied by the work Il verde del bosco con ramo by artist Giuseppe Penone, loaned by the Rochechouart Museum of Contemporary Art.
"Barcelona is a fantastic and very dynamic artistic hub right now. There have been ups and downs, but the city has returned and, this year in particular, its creativity is about to explode," remarks Chaperon. Also playing in favor of choosing Barcelona for Révélations was the previous relationship with the El Bulli foundation, with whom he collaborated to unravel the history of their champagne. "There was a time when I came every month," recalls the chef de cave, who does not forget to add that he knows the Catalan capital closely, having grown up in Bordeaux and with an eye on Spain, with a daughter, moreover, who did her Erasmus here.
To continue their relationship with the Adriàs, Albert Adrià will be inspired by the new Dom Pérignon vintages and will pair them with two new creations. The gastronomic experience can be tasted at the Enigma restaurant in September.