Pol Roger Winston Churchill 2006 w/box 750ml

Wine Advocate #237, Jun 30, 2018 by Stephan Reinhardt
Made in the very best vintages, Pol Roger's 2006 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill offers a very clear, precise, ripe and complex bouquet with fruity and refreshingly chalky, nutty and brioche notes. Full-bodied and complex on the palate, the 2006 is supple, round and rich but also fine, elegant, fresh and well structured. It has a harmonious yet tight, persistent and very promising finish that puts this silky textured, Pinot-dominated cuvée (the exact blend is a closely guarded family secret) on the border of fatty richness. But the mousse gives so much freshness and finesse that everything seems lifted here. Though I have very limited experience with matured Champagnes from Pol Roger and namely Churchill, I suppose the 2006 will benefit a lot from further bottle aging. But don't get me wrong: the wine is already gorgeous. Tasted June 2018, disgorged in June 2017.

Champagne Pol Roger is a prominent Champagne producer based in Epernay. It is known for its elegant, balanced house style made from equal proportions of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and for its close affiliation with British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill. The house's top cuvée is named for him.
The house was officially established in 1849, although at least two generations had been involved in the growing Champagne industry before Pol Roger began to make and sell his wine. In the mid-1850s, export became a key focus and the house began to eschew the traditional sweetness of Champagne, producing a drier style that was more in line with British tastes. The house grew throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries, remaining strong throughout the period of American Prohibition and the Russian Revolution. Today, Pol Roger produces around 1.8 million bottles a year.
Pol Roger grows just over half of its grapes on its 89 hectares (220 acres) of estate vineyards, with the rest supplied by contract growers with whom the company has long-term relationships. Everything is done by hand in the winery and Pol Roger is home to the largest remuage team in Champagne, as well as some of the deepest cellars in Epernay. The winery has had considerable investment in the last ten years.

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