Personal advice
The intense fruit-and-nut notes create an immediate sense of deep contentment. After an hour in the glass, it gains even more depth. Hazelnut, mirabelle plum, orange zest, apple, and gingerbread are just some of the complex nuances in this richly layered aromatic palette.
On the palate, medium body meets remarkable concentration. The saline minerality and racy acidity of the vintage are already harmoniously integrated into a creamy mouthfeel. It is fabulous to drink right now – and promises even more for the future.
2008 is a vintage of extremes and patience. A cool, changeable summer offered little hope of greatness – yet an unusually warm September saved the harvest and ensured perfect ripeness. With September nights already cold, 2008 combines very high sugar levels with equally high acidity. The slow ripening has produced complex, deeply layered aromas. Structure and acidity demand time – and richly reward those who give it.
Within the Winston Churchill range, 2008 forms the strongest duo of this millennium alongside 2002. Yet even 2002 remains youthful.
For true maturity, look to 1995 or 1985 in perfect form. 1996 and 1999 are still young. Winston Churchill is produced in small quantities, so older vintages are particularly hard to find and correspondingly expensive.
The vinification is deliberately understated – tanks rather than barrels, no showy effects. What makes Winston Churchill so special lies elsewhere: in the vines.
Pol Roger uses grapes exclusively from vines planted before Winston Churchill's death in 1965. These old vines are now at least 61 years old, averaging over 80. Old vines yield less but far more concentrated grapes, delivering a complexity and mineral depth that younger plantings simply cannot match.
Stylistically, Winston Churchill treads its own path: without the oxidative notes of Bollinger, without the markedly reductive yeast aromas of Dom Pérignon – it stands alone: nutty and complex, yet with fruity charm; mineral yet creamy and elegant.
Winston Churchill died at ninety in 1965 in London. It took nearly 20 years before the cuvée named after him was launched in 1984 at Blenheim Palace, the family seat.
In the 17 vintages following the 1975, neither production nor style has changed much. The nutty notes here lack the austere severity of oxidatively barrel-aged Champagnes. Hazelnut, gingerbread, cinnamon, and honey are woven into charming fruit. The palate feel is creamy.
Only the presentation has evolved. Up to the 1995 vintage, bottles and cases were black with gold lettering and ornamentation. This design was a mark of mourning for this extraordinary character, who entered politics almost by chance. We show an image of the 1979 for illustration. From 1996 onwards, the labels evoke the Navy: dark blue with silver and dark red accents.
At Pol Roger, the cuvée remains a secret. Christian de Billy – one of the many descendants working for the house – does reveal, however, that from 2002 the Pinot Noir proportion was increased to nearly 90%.
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin cellar
A glance at the Alfavin Cellar