Description
Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2018 750ml is the house’s top Champagne, created as a tribute to Sir Winston Churchill and made from Grand Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. Pinot Noir predominates, and the exact blend is a closely kept family secret. Pol Roger makes it in very small quantities and only in selected vintages.
Buy Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2018 Online in NZ
Serve it lightly chilled, at about 10 to 12°C, in a large white wine or Burgundy glass, and give it time because the nose is still shy. Roast squab, veal or a mushroom dish with cream would suit its firm structure.
- Grand Cru Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir leading
- 2018 vintage, exact blend kept by the family
- Second fermentation in the house’s deepest cellars
The house describes a brilliant golden colour and delicate bubbles, with white flowers, citrus and dried apricot alongside blond tobacco and gently peppered sweet spice. The palate is clean and vibrant, with tension and minerality, flavours of blood orange and pastry and a hint of fresh raspberry, before a long, generous finish.
Churchill was a loyal Pol Roger customer, and he called the firm’s Épernay address the most drinkable in the world. The cuvée in his name was created in 1975 and launched at Blenheim Palace, at first in magnums only. It sets out to reflect the qualities he looked for in Champagne: a firm structure, full-bodied character and relative maturity.
The grapes define that shape. Pinot Noir provides the structure, breadth and firmness, and Chardonnay contributes elegance, finesse and subtlety. In the winery the must is settled twice, the second time at 6°C for 24 hours, then fermented slowly below 18°C in stainless steel, with each variety and village kept separate. Full malolactic fermentation comes before the final blend.
The second fermentation takes place at 9°C in the firm’s deepest cellars, 33 metres below street level, where the bottles remain until they are riddled by hand. Few Champagne houses still do this work by hand, and Pol Roger links its fine, persistent mousse to these cool, damp conditions.
A bottle for a keen Champagne collector, or for someone with a particular interest in Churchill and the house he favoured.
