Pol Roger, Vintage Brut, Champagne, France, 2013

Overview of the Wine
Pol Roger is one of the few remaining family-owned grande marque Champagne houses. Their grande marque status was guaranteed at the turn of the century when about 20 producers banded together to establish exacting quality controls for Champagne. The annual production at Pol Roger - less than 120,000 cases - is found in the best restaurants of France, England, and the USA, and is exported to over 30 countries. Pol Roger also was the Champagne of choice of British dignitary Sir Winston Churchill, who once said of Champagne, "...In victory I deserve it, and in defeat I need it!".

Grape / Blend
60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay

Origin
Champagne, France

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
The 2013 Brut Vintage displays an enticing pale golden hue underpinned by a vivid and elegant cord.The nose immediately exudes a complex bouquet of almond, cashew nut, small candied seeds, harmoniously counterbalanced by its vibrant sensation of youth and lightness mingling with mineral and floral fragrances. Then as the wine opens up in the glass, the scents of toast and Viennese pastries reveal all their richness and intensity. The mouth tingles under its seductive attack, crisp, fresh, acidulous, and yet full of roundness and suppleness.Then comes a long lasting intense aftertaste with hints of white flowers. This complex body gradually becomes more refined to offer a creamy texture reminiscent of pastry and toasted aromas, to finish with an exquisite salinity.

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pol Roger's just-released 2013 Brut Vintage is a beautifully chiseled, incisive wine that will appeal immensely to purists. Unwinding in the glass with scents of citrus zest, white flowers, crushed chalk and hints of fresh sourdoughs, it's medium to full-bodied, racy and precise, with a nicely concentrated and tightly wound core, tangy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse. After the rich, muscular 2012 vintage, the 2013 represents quite a contrast; I'm not sure we'll see its stylistic like again for some time, so readers with classically inclined palates will want to stock up—advice I'll be following myself.

94 Points - James Suckling
A tight, structured vintage Champagne with cherry, spice and some dried strawberry. Hints of biscuits, too. It’s medium-bodied with a tight, structured palate and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

93 Points - Wine Spectator
Expressive notes of baked black cherry and blackberry coulis are underscored by a minerally streak of brine and oyster shell in this focused Champagne, which is firmed by lemony acidity and balanced and enriched by hints of crystallized honey, grilled nut and toast. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2030.

Product size: 750ml