Champagne Pol Roger

Champagne Pol Roger is probably best known for being a favourite champagne of Sir Winston Churchill and many British Army Regiments. Pol Roger was born on December 24, 1831, the son of a lawyer, who started his own champagne house in 1849, with the first growths released in 1853. Based around the town of Épernay in the Champagne region, Pol Roger is still owned and run by the descendants of Pol Roger himself. The house has a reputation for producing champagnes of finesse and elegance which age very well.

White flowers and brioche notes on the nose with more dried fruit with warm toasted almonds and hazelnuts with an attactive hint of orange zest. The palate is powerful, exquisitely balanced, and citrus fresh.

A pure delight of a Champagne to be enjoyed by itself or as an aperitif with canapes. It is also the undisputed partner of rich dishes such as chicken supreme with chanterelle mushrooms or lobster.

The must undergoes two débourbages (settlings), one at the press house immediately after pressing and the second, a débourbage à froid, in stainless steel tanks at 6°C over a 24 hour period. A slow cool fermentation with the temperature kept under 18°C takes place in stainless steel, with each variety and each village kept separate until final blending. The wine undergoes a full malolactic fermentation, and is matured for eight years on the lees. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle at 9°C in the deepest Pol Roger cellars (33 metres below street level) where the wine is kept until it undergoes remuage (riddling) by hand, a rarity in Champagne nowadays. The very fine and persistent mousse for which Pol Roger is renowned owes much to these deep, cool and damp cellars.

Deep golden straw colour. Full-bodied, meaty nose with lots of impact. Lovely, filigree mousse – very well judged for its impact on the palate. Flavours reach every bit of the palate. Quite a charmer! Definitely already approachable – in fact it tastes as though it would already have been pretty nice last year! A fine, succulent representative of this dry, ripe year. Pretty gorgeous actually. Maybe it won't be the longest-lasting Churchill but it's hugely satisfying now.” Jancisrobinson.comFeb 2023