Wine Advisor
Pol Roger, Sir Winston Churchill 1996
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Description
Champagne Pol Roger created their Prestige Cuvée in homage to Sir Winston Churchill mindful of the qualities that he sought in his champagne : robustness, a full-bodied character and relative maturity. The exact blend is a closely guarded family secret but it is undeniable that the composition would meet with the approval of the man to whom it is dedicated : "My tastes are simple, I am easily satisfied with the best". Pinot Noir predominates, providing structure, breadth and robustness whilst Chardonnay contributes elegance, finesse and subtlety. Composed exclusively of grapes sourced from Grands Crus Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards which were already under vine during Churchill's lifetime. Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is only made in the very best vintages and is always released later than the other vintage dated Champagnes from Pol Roger, marking Churchill's appreciation for older wines.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A lucid, quite deep golden colour with very fine bead. The nose is complex, bready, toasty with touches of wild strawberry and biscuit. The palate is very well balanced, creamy in texture, perfect-pitched acidity, very focused and easing back towards the refined, leesy, and walnut-tinged finish. A lovely champagne to drink now or leave a few years. Tasted February 2008.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill is an immensely rewarding, complete Champagne that is drinking well today but that also has the potential to continue to improve in bottle. Nothing in particular stands out here, but as is often the case with this cuvee, I am struck by the wine’s awesome balance and supreme harmony. Simply put, this is a strikingly beautiful wine from Pol Roger.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The most tightly wound, compact wine in this vertical tasting was also, paradoxically, the oldest, but that won't surprise readers who know the 1996 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. Opening in the glass with notes of iodine, confit orchard fruit, tangerine, smoke and buttered toast, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and tensile, with a seamless, beautifully balanced profile and a classy, somewhat more reserved, intellectual profile than the younger vintages that followed it. This serious but harmonious 1996 will still improve with additional cellaring.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from magnum, a consistent notes here with those hints of fresh oyster shell on the nose, mixed with green apple and limestone. Very good weight on the palate with hints of pear drop rendering the finish so pretty and feminine. Certainly out of magnum, one has the sense that this Winston Churchill has barely begun to express itself, but it is certainly shaping up to be a beauty. Drink now-2020. Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Winston Churchill lunch at The Square. With a dosage of 10gms/L, the ’96 Winston Churchill has a crisp, citrus nose with touches of freshly caught oyster and lemon peel. Very fine definition, not as evolved as I have discerned on previous bottles. The palate has a vibrant entry with crisp green apple, just a slight metallic edge, the Chardonnay seemingly more expressive than the Pinot Noir, at least at the moment. Great focus on the finish. This will age very well. Drink now-2020. Tasted March 2010.
About the Producer
Located in the town of Epernay in the Champagne region, Pol Roger Champagne was founded in 1849 by Pol Roger, a Champagne man from Aix-en-Provence. Over the next 50 years, Pol Roger built the estate into one of the most respected in Champagne and established it as a solid trading cornerstone in the UK. After his death, the estate passed into the hands of his sons Maurice and Georges. The two brothers had their own specialities, Maurice being very open to the public and Georges preferring to stay in the blending room and tasting room, and it was in their hands that the Champagne de la Vignoble continued to flourish. The Champagnes are now made from 55 hectares of vineyards, mostly in or around Epernay. Made from grapes grown in 18 vineyards in the Epernay region, it is a rich, deep, full-bodied wine with the vibrancy and finesse that characterise the best Champagnes. Its Reserve Champagnes can last 30 years or more, longer than the best French red wines. Another of the estate's outstanding Champagnes is the Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs, which is also one of the world's finest white in white Champagnes, made from only Chardonnay from the best vineyards in the Cramant, Le Mesnil, Oger and Avize regions. The Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs is perhaps the estate's sexiest and most glamorous, ready to drink at a young age and with less ageing capacity than the Reserve and the famous Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Champagne. Today, after a century and a half of development, traditional and modern elements can be found in all aspects of the vinification process at Château Paulus. The most direct manifestation of this modernity is in the fermentation plant, with its neat and shiny stainless steel fermenting tanks, hinting at a departure from the days of first fermentation and storage in wooden barrels. It was around the 1930s that the estate decided to move away from barrel fermentation and started using concrete tanks for fermentation and later stainless steel fermenters. This modern equipment allowed for better temperature control during fermentation and clarification, resulting in a cleaner, more consistent and better quality fermented wine. Château Paulot was one of the first champagne houses to make this change.
