Pol Roger
Pol Roger is a traditional Champagne house founded in 1849. Together with Bollinger and Krug, Pol Roger is conventionally counted among the top three of the Champagne quality elite.
The house remains family-owned to this day. It is closely connected with Winston Churchill and the English royal family.
Pol Roger possesses the structure and substance of ripe Pinot Noir grapes, yet unlike Bollinger, it does not rely on body and power. Fruity charm, a complex, multi-layered aromatics, and great mineral finesse characterize the house.
Pinot Noir dominates the vintage and prestige cuvées. The style is continued by the new Chef de Cave Damien Cambres. The wines do have body, but less structure and power than Bollinger, with more fruity charm instead. Pol Roger Champagnes stand for harmony, elegance, and perfect dosage.
Maturation takes place reductively in tanks, not oxidatively. Particularly noteworthy is the quality of the vintage wines, including the very full Blanc de Blancs, formerly called Cuvée de Chardonnay.
After the German defeat, Winston Churchill meets Odette Pol Roger at a lunch in the British Embassy in Paris. The families form a friendship, which is also fostered by Winston’s wife Clementine. Until his death in 1965, Odette sends Winston Churchill a case of vintage Champagne every year for his birthday.
Winston Churchill had a special relationship with Champagne. Not a day passed without Champagne in his life. During the war, he said: "Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne."
It was not until the 1980s that the 1975 vintage was launched exclusively in magnums as Cuvée Winston Churchill. It was presented in 1984 at Blenheim Palace, the great country seat of the Spencer Churchills.
The current 2018 vintage is the 22nd vintage of this prestige cuvée. The cuvée consists of 80% to 90% Pinot Noir and 20% to 10% Chardonnay. Pol Roger does not officially release figures, but Bastien de Billy reveals that recent releases have hovered around the 90% Pinot Noir mark.
Winston Churchill is fermented long and cool at 18 °C in stainless steel tanks. It also undergoes malolactic fermentation. The bottles are riddled by hand.
Winston Churchill remains something of an insider Champagne. With only 5% of the annual production volume of Dom Pérignon, it is also rare.
With its high Pinot Noir content, Winston Churchill has body. Yet it also has a special charm and elegance. Creamy fruit meets mineral precision. The palate texture is indescribable.
The vintage Champagne is also dominated by Pinot Noir, with a slightly higher Chardonnay proportion. Older vines go into the Winston Churchill cuvée.
Over time, the Vintage develops a similar aroma profile to Winston Churchill: orange zest, nuts, dried apricots, chocolate, nougat, and white bread. Like Winston Churchill, it has excellent ageing potential but already reaches an ideal drinking window after just a few years, which lasts a long time.
Although Pinot Noir is emphasized in the cuvées, Pol Roger was one of the first houses in Champagne to produce a pure Chardonnay Champagne.
The Réserve Chardonnay 1914 enjoyed an excellent reputation. The legendary Blanc de Blancs 1928 from the cool Premier Cru site Grauves was the only Champagne rated 100 points by Richard Juhlin.
Since 1959, vintage Champagnes made purely from Chardonnay have been offered regularly. Until 1996, the Blanc de Blancs was still called Blanc de Chardonnay.
Pol Roger produces a rich, full-bodied Blanc de Blancs. The grapes come from Grand Crus such as Chouilly, Oger, Avize, Cramant, and Oiry. The wines mature in tanks and undergo malolactic fermentation. The grape quality, meticulous cellar work, and precise assemblage make the fine difference.
The 92 hectares of own vineyards are mostly located near the headquarters in Épernay: Mardeuil, Chouilly, Pierry, Moussy, Chavot, Cuis, Cramant, and Grauves are important holdings.
Just over half of the grapes are purchased. These also include Pinot Noirs from Grand Cru sites in the Montagne de Reims: Verzenay, Mailly, Ambonnay, Mareuil, Bouzy, and Aÿ.
Pol Roger pursues sustainable viticulture that combines ecological responsibility with high quality. In the vineyard, environmentally friendly practices are observed without being exclusively organic. The goal is to preserve quality while having the least possible impact on the protected terroirs.
Here you can learn more about Pol-Roger's sustainability policy
Winston Churchill with Odette Pol Roger
After pressing, the must is cooled. Cold débourbage is used to clarify the must. The base wines are fermented in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation provides a silky texture and aromatic complexity. The second fermentation takes place traditionally in the bottle in the deep cellars of Épernay, where the Champagnes age for a long time on the lees, gaining depth and fullness.
Pol Roger is only 18 when he begins selling wine in his hometown of Aÿ in 1849. In 1851, he acquires cellars in Épernay to build up Champagne production there. In 1899, he dies of pneumonia.
His sons Maurice and Georges Roger have already gained many years of experience at their father's side when they take over the leadership of the house. But right at the beginning, a catastrophe threatens the house. The cellar collapses, and the house loses over a million bottles.
In 1927, Maurice's son Jacques joins the firm. He takes over leadership after Georges and Maurice die in the 1950s. His wife Odette is also famous for effectively putting Pol Roger in the spotlight. Maurice's daughter Antoinette's son Christian de Billy leads the house together with Jean, son of Jacques Roger.
Today, the house is led by numerous de Billys, after Christian Pol Roger has stepped down.
In honor of the founder, the house changed its name to Pol-Roger at the beginning of the last century.