Pol Roger, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill Brut, Champagne, France, 2009 (Gift Box Option)

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 wine has an inviting, bright golden hue, and a fine, regular stream of bubbles. At first the refined nose exudes subtle hints of brioche and sweet spice combining with citrus flavors and floral fragrances. As the wine warms in the glass, it becomes more powerful and the nose develops complex nuances of toasted nuts, acacia blossom and honeycomb. The palate is round and creamy supported by notes of fresh fruit. The structure is opulent, underpinned by fabulous balance. The finish is long and powerful.

The weight, balance and mineral freshness means that this champagne could be served with Parmigano Reggiano matured for 18 months, a stuffed capon façon demi-deuil or sweetbreads cooked with morels

97 Points - Wine Spectator
As always, this Pinot Noir-dominated Champagne is a great wine. In this vintage, it is fuller than usual, perhaps less structure —a true reflection of the vintage. Like all releases of this cuvée, the wine will age magnificently. Drink now or hold for at least 10 years to get full maturity.

95 Points - Wine Spectator
A seamless Champagne, lithe with fresh, finely knit acidity, and showing beautiful integration, with a rich vein of smoky minerality underscoring flavors of black cherry, toast, preserved lemon and pickled ginger. There's power and focus here, but this bubbly highlights the grace and accessibility that 2009 can offer even on release.

95 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pol Roger's 2009 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill has turned out very well, offering up a demonstrative bouquet of golden apples, clear honey, hazelnuts and fresh pastry that's still quite primary. Full-bodied, fleshy and textural, it's deep and concentrated, with an ample core of fruit, ripe but racy acids, a pinpoint mousse and a long, penetrating finish. This is an expressive, deceptively immediate rendition of this bottling, yet despite its charm out of the gates, readers willing to wait at least five years will be rewarded with significant additional complexity.

94 Points - Vinous
The 2009 Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is a heady, explosive Champagne. Ample and deep, the Churchill is so expressive today. Apricot, tangerine oil, mint, baked apple tart and spice all flesh out. I would give the 2009 at least a year or two in bottle, as it is a bit tight at this stage. Even so, time in the glass brings out a feeling of raw power that is impossible to miss.

Product size: 750ml

Gift Box