Champagne Pol Roger - Sir Winston Churchill 2012

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

This medium-sized company, founded in 1849 by Pol Roger, still belongs to the founding family and is now run by Laurent d'Harcourt. Official supplier to the Queen of England, the link with the neighboring kingdom goes far beyond purely mercantile relations, as Sir Winston Churchill also appreciated Pol-Roger wines and made them his preferred brand. In the last century, Pol-Roger's reputation has grown thanks to a number of top-class vintages that are indisputably among the gotha of champagnes, such as the cult 1928. Fortunate enough to have 90 hectares of vineyards that cover 65% of its needs, the company has remained deliberately limited in its volumes, with one and a half million bottles produced each year, and an impressive stock of 9 million waiting in the cellar, hardly matched today.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the domain :

This Épernay-based trading house sent its first bottles to England as soon as it was founded by the young Pol Roger in 1849. It quickly became famous in the UK, and forged close ties with British wine lovers, with Winston Churchill declaring his preference for Pol Roger champagne. The business remains family-owned, with 92 ha of vineyards. Hubert de Billy represents the 5th generation of the family on the Board; Laurent d'Harcourt, Chairman of the Board, succeeded Patrice Noyelle in 2013. Dominique Petit, cellar manager, retired in 2018, leaving his post to Damien Cambres, former manager of the Goutte d'or cooperative in Vertus.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the domain :

A favorite house of Sir Winston Churchill, Pol Roger was founded in 1849. The company's 89 hectares of vines are spread across the terroirs of the Marne Valley, Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs. Initially dominated by Pinot Noir, the wines now benefit more from the elegance of Chardonnay. With a stock of 8 million bottles being aged, equivalent to 4 to 5 years' sales, Pol Roger is one of the "smallest" of the great Champagne houses! Its governance remains strictly family-based.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Pol Roger's new cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2012 is bright, bursting in the glass with youthful aromas of honeyed pear, toasted brioche, pomelo, fresh pastry, green apple and tangerine, with stone fruit notes emerging over time in the glass. Full-bodied, vinous and textured, with an enveloping core of fleshy, concentrated fruit, bright acids and elegant, punctuated mousse, it finishes with a long, penetrating finish. More muscular and vibrant than the generous and charming 2009, the 2012 ranks alongside the 2008 and 2002 as one of the three finest interpretations of Sir Winston Churchill this millennium - and with style, it looks like a hypothetical blend of these two vintages.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

Pol Roger is an authentic Champagne icon, exemplary in the precision, generosity and consistency of its range. The vineyards are planted on the slopes of Épernay, in the Côte des Blancs, as well as in Mareuil and Ambonnay, all terroirs that are sources of high quality and consistency. The three grape varieties are present in thirds, as for the purchases (a balance that is reflected in the cuvées); malolactic fermentation is systematic (which brings roundness); settling is done cold (for aromatic intensity). Pol Roger is the last house of its size to stir its 1.6 million annual bottles by hand in its 7.5 km of Sparnac cellars. The cuvées are differentiated by the ageing of the reserve wines, as well as by the origin of the crus. Pol Roger has rediscovered the style and generosity of the wines that made him famous in the 1960s, with cuvées such as Sir Winston Churchill (only ten vintages produced in thirty years) or the cuvée blanc de blancs millésimée, the paragon of racy champagnes that age remarkably well. Damien Cambres has replaced Dominique Petit as cellar master.