Pol Roger

History

Pol Roger lived in Ay and when he was 18, he made the first sale of wine in 1849, when Pol Roger’s father illness forced him to set up the wine business. With rapid expansion, he moved to Epernay in 1851. From 1855 Pol Roger began to favor the brut champagne, which the English preferred.

He died in 1899 and taken over by his two sons Maurice and Georges. In 1900 part of the cellars and buildings collapsed, with 500 casks and a half million bottles lost. Maurice and Georges successfully overcame the catastrophe and got the brand into many royal customers, changing the family name to Pol-Roger to honor their father.

Maurice was elected mayor of Epernay in 1912. In 1927 Maurice’s son Jacques became the third generation to manage the house. During the Prohibition in the US and Russian Revolution export to those countries was difficult, but Pol Roger expanded in others, until the Germans occupied France during WWII.

The War also brought in an emblematic figure to the brand, Winston Churchill, who was an unwavering client of the firm.  After the war the sales improved and range of wines also expanded, with the vintage rose launched in 1961. Christian Pol-Roger joined the management in 1963. The special Cuvee Winston Churchill was born in 1975.

First member of the fifth generation, Hubert de Billy, entered the business in 1988, and joined by Patrice Noyelle in 1997, who is not a member of the founding family. The firm developed and reached 210 acres in 1999. Patrice became the president in 2000, overseeing the house.

In 2001 a new cuvee, Rich, was launched, which is a demi-sec, and in 2007 Pure, which is extra brut. Apart from its own 89 hectares of vineyards, the house also sourced the best grapes from growers. By 2013 Patrice stepped down and handed the baton to Laurent d’Harcourt.

Champagne

Brut Reserve – blend in equal parts of all the three varieties Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay from 30 different crus, with 25% reserve wines used, with four years in cellars.

Pure Extra Brut – launched in 2008, an undosed champagne from equal parts of all the three varieties, with at least four years of cellaring.

Rich Demi-Sec – launched in 2001, again of equal portions of the three varieties, from the 30 different crus with 25% reserve wines used with minimum 4 years cellaring with a dosage added after disgorging to add the sweetness.

Brut Vintage is the traditional house vintage blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 20 grands and premiers crus in Montagne de Reims and Cote de Blancs, aged for 8 years.

Blanc de Blancs is made exclusively from Chardonnay selected from the grands crus of Cote de Blancs, aged for 7 years before release.

Rose Vintage – based on Brut Vintage but adding before bottling and second fermentation approximately 15% of still red wine from the best crus of Montagne de Reims, cellar for 7 years before release.

Sir Winston Churchill – the prestige cuvee of the house, with the exact blend a family secret with Pinot Noir predominate, with the grapes exclusively coming from grands crus vineyards which were already under vine during Churchill’s lifetime. The wine is only made in the best vintages and always released later than the other vintage dated champagnes from Pol Roger.

I have recently tasted the 2000 Sir Winston Churchill and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, it has light lemon color, with watery rims and legs.

Nose

Clean, with medium intensity of citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of apple, autolytic notes of brioche and yeast, mineral notes of stony, oak notes of toast, some nutty notes. The wine is developing.

Palate

Dry with high acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and light body, demonstrating medium intensity of flavors including citrus fruit of lemon, green fruit of apple, autolytic notes of brioche and yeast, oak notes of toast. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Very good quality Champagne with a reasonably intense nose showing good complexity, the wine has a high acidity, providing crispness and refreshing palate, with a similar flavor profile of good concentration and fair length on the finish. Overall a wine is in good balance on all fronts, typifies how a good champagne with Pinot Noir predominant characters could perform. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.