2004 Pol Roger Cuvee Winston Churchill

An intense golden-yellow color dresses the Pol Roger prestige cuvée 2004 Sir Winston Churchill, which opens with a clear, deep, dense, ripe, fresh, pure and elegant bouquet of matured apples, apricots and lemon flavors along with exciting spicy flavors. Although this Brut is already more than 11-years-old, it is dew-fresh and still developing--slowly. This Champagne is highly complex and well structured on the palate, with grapefruit flavors; it is a full-bodied and intense, yet very firm, persistent, fresh and very elegant assemblage of unnamed Grand Cru Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. It reveals a very long and complex, powerful but stimulating finish, and obviously, an eternal youth. The finish is powerful and stringent, and reveals a great, great aging potential. The wine is somewhat restrained and too compact at the moment though, and should benefit from a longer bottle aging. Mar 2016, eRobertParker.com, Drink: 2017-2026

The 2004 Pol Roger “Cuvée Winston Churchill” is an outstanding young wine. It is a blend of old vine chardonnay and pinot noir, as Pol Roger stipulates that they will only use fruit for this bottling from grand cru vineyards that were planted during Churchill’s lifetime (he passed away in 1965). The wine was aged eleven years sur latte and finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter. The bouquet of the 2004 offers up a deep and complex constellation of apple, just a whisper of tangerine, fresh-baked bread, gentle notes of hazelnut, a beautifully complex base of soil and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with bottomless depth at the core, utterly refined mousse, lovely focus and grip and a very long, complex and elegant finish. This is quite open for a 2004, but with the impeccable balance to also age long and gracefully. Very high class juice. Nov 2016, www.viewfromthecellar.com, Drink: 2016-2040.

No tasting note. Tasted May 16, www.champagneclub.com