An expert on Champagne

I was born in 1985 into a normal Finnish family. As a kid, the only Champagne I got to see was in the movies, I became fascinated by how James Bond drank those, oh so fine bubbles. In 2001, when I was 16 years old, I tasted my first Champagne. I remember the taste being very dry and almost violent to my young Coca-Cola taste buds. So, I learned there were demi-sec Champagnes. The added sweetness, combined with the bubbles and the finesse of what only Champagne can propose, captivated me. There it was; I was hooked on the bubbles of Champagne. After turning 18, in November 2003, I started drinking Champagne wherever and whenever it was possible. Always seeking new labels to try, and new tastes to discover. In 2004, I bought my first bottle of Dom Pérignon, the vintage 1995. Thereafter, I have followed the development of each new vintage of Dom Pérignon. In autumn 2008, I tasted Dom Pérignon 1992 Œnothèque, the Champagne that changed my life, it was the most elegant, most intense wine I’d ever had. How was it even possible that wine could make me feel like that? The very next day, I began to hunt for mature vintages of Champagne.

Starting from 2008, I often read the Champagne Magazine. The articles were fascinating, and the magazine itself was absolutely beautiful. Long story short, I ended up working with the Champagne Magazine. In this way I got my foot in the door, I got to spend time with the people there and learn more about wine. In 2010, through their contacts, I was in a position to find sources to acquire mature Champagnes. As well as this, I also became a member of the jury (2010-2014) of the Champagne Magazine duly elected to select the 100 Best Champagnes for the following year. On several days each year, we tasted a hundred Champagnes per day judging and rating them. The members of the jury were: Essi Avellan (Master of Wine and one of the world's most renowned Champagne journalists and critics), Juha Lihtonen (The Best Sommelier in the Nordic Countries 2003 and three times Best Sommelier in Finland 2000, 2002, 2003), Pekka Nuikki (the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Champagne Magazine) and the 25-year-old me. I am forever grateful to these three people for teaching me, and for giving me the confidence to start to trust my own taste. In 2011, as a sideline or perhaps more like a job, I started to arrange tasting events and dinners which allowed me the opportunity of being able to taste as much as possible. I started to save the empty bottles as memories. Together with the Champagne Magazine, I founded Tastingbook.com, the world's largest fine wine media and a tasting note tool to keep track of one's tasting notes. I was the Chief Product Officer and was in charge of the product until 2015.

As my passion turned into an obsession, my home began to resemble a wine cellar. In Spring 2013, I turned what had up to then been ‘only a dream’ into a reality, quitting my day job and moving to Reims, Champagne. That led me to find Artisan Champagnes. The two and a half years there widened my view of Champagne, allowing me to understand the terroir I walked on, the philosophy of the people who cultivate their vineyards and why and how they make their cuvées. I continued to do even more tastings and events, providing ample opportunity to taste as much as possible and to learn as much as possible. In April 2018, sharing a bottle of 1985 Dom Pérignon with Richard Geoffroy the Chef-de-Cave of Dom Pérignon (1990 - 2018), was a dream come true and I got so many answers to my questions from our conversations.

In Autumn 2019, my friend happened to mention that he would love to read a book about my Dom Pérignon experiences. Four years later in November 2023, at the age of 38, this book is my journey; A sacred mission to drink all the vintages of Dom Pérignon ever made. I have tasted each vintage within the book at least once and some vintages as many as over 50 times since 2005 with the current exceptions being the 1953 and the 1921. The bottles I had collected and cherished for years have now been photographed within this book.

I have predicted the future development of each vintage based on my aforementioned, extensive experience in mature Champagnes. I’ve tasted only 3,500 different Champagnes as I have focused my drinking on Prestige Cuvées, Mature Champagnes and Artisan Champagnes. In 2022, myself and five Finnish friends acquired a complete vertical of 27 vintages of Dom Pérignon Rosé; starting from the first one, the 1959 Rosé, of which only 306 bottles were made. Through drinking Dom Pérignon Rosé from its beginning, I have gained a unique and comprehensively up-to-date understanding of how Dom Pérignon Rosé evolves over time. We are only missing the Dom Pérignon 1966 Rosé; if you have a bottle, please get in touch with me.

Within my book, you will find 68 beautiful openings with photos of the empty Dom Pérignon bottles. The bottles are as they were, showing the reality of hunting rare bottles and drinking them. Resulting in 598 rating points and 280 tasting notes summarised yearly to follow the development of the cuvées of Dom Pérignon since 2005.

Discover my book
DrinkingDomPerignon.com