I was lucky enough last week to visit Pol Roger in Epernay, Champagne. Champagne is a drink that I have always had in the back of my mind as something nice to drink in celebration, but had never really considered it properly until this visit. Following this trip, my opinion has completely changed.
Pol Roger is one of the smaller houses and, as a result of this, focuses its energy on producing lower yields of exceptional quality. It uses only the first press of the grapes it harvests by hand (think of extra virgin olive oil as a parallel), and following fermentation in metal vats and blending into a Pinot-dominated mix, the wine is aged in bottle, cared for by hand by a dedicated and meticulously trained group of cellar hands. The Non-Vintage is aged for up to 3 years from the picking of the grapes, while the Vintage up to 10 or more. This produces a sublimely developed and complex wine that one can tell everyone at the Maison is extremely proud of.
For the first part of the visit we were treated to a tour of the cellars, local vineyards around Epernay and of the surrounding area. The highlight for me was a tasting before we left, during which we tried the component parts that are later blended by a panel consisting of the Chef de Caves, members of the family and others. As the bubbles in Champagne are achieved by bottle-ageing the wine and trapping the gas within the wine, the pre-blended wines are still. The Chardonnay produced sharp acidity with intense citrus, while the Pinot Noir was more full-bodied. Pinot Meunier added depth and an intense red berry character.
After the wine has been blended and aged for the appropriate time, the sediment is removed from the top of the bottle and a dash of a sugar liqueur is added to make up the final product. It is left a further 6 months or so to fully integrate before being released and shipped to various corners of the world.
Pol Roger makes three Non-Vintage wines and four Vintage, and all were outstanding and worth trying. The Non-Vintage are a 'Pure', 'Brut' and 'Rich'. The Pure has no sugar liqueur added, so is a bone-dry wine suited best for food, rather than as an aperitif, such as oysters and other shellfish. It gives a healthy punch of acidity and shows off the blending process bringing notes of light spices, green apple and a deep minerality. The Brut, with roughly equal parts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and a dash of the sugar liqueur dosage brings more of a nutiness and presents with apricots and a floral palate. The Rich is a dessert Champagne and was my personal favourite. The sugar content is increased to 34 grams per litre and the wine gives honey aromas with a refreshing acidity and minerality on the finish, making it very well-rounded and perfect for accompanying fruit cakes and tarts.
The Vintage wines produced at the moment are the Brut, Rose, Blanc de Blancs and Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill. Just released was the Brut 2002 - with no Pinot Meunier and more Pinot Noir than Chardonnay. It is a wine with great depth and body and an intense gold colour. The Rose 2004 surprised me somewhat as I am generally not a fan of Rose Champagne. This one gave notes of muscovado sugar and stewed fruit and with a touch of sugar dosage it is perfect with light desserts. The Blanc de Blancs (as the name suggests) is purely Chardonnay. Being an admirer of Pol Roger's commitment to Pinot Noir, I was skeptical about this wine, however following the first sip I was convinced otherwise. The 2000 was light and fine with notes of brioche and almond I was not expecting, along with a lengthy dry finish - perfect for seafood or as a special occasion aperitif. Last but certainly not least is their 'flagship', if you will. The Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill is made only when the harvest and growing has been exceptional, and at no other time. It is a heavily Pinot Noir-dominated blend of roughly 70 or 80%, made to what the Maison believe our ex-Prime Minister would have enjoyed (he was a devoted customer of Pol Roger himself). The 1999 at around 125 pounds per bottle is not cheap, but is something to behold. All the grapes are from Grand Cru vineyards and produce a stunning wine with decades left in the bottle to improve. Currently it shows a deep complexity and nuttiness with stone fruits, almond and a floral, berried nose.
Pol Roger were fantastic hosts and have certainly convinced me of their philosophy of quality over quantity. Any of their seven cuvees are worth trying, and all are brilliant food wines as well as on their own. Do give them a go.
