1988 Pol Roger Brut Vintage
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Tasting notes
I tasted two different jeroboams from the four sourced from and checked in Pol's cellars in Epernay (topped up and recorked after being tasted). First jeroboam was deep apricot and lacked a bit of fruit in the middle – seemed a tad dried out. It improved a little in the glass but Laurent d'Harcourt requested a tasting from another jeroboam which was much more youthful on the nose as well as livelier and fruitier on the palate. It had real pizzazz. My score relates to this second jero. (JR)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Disgorged in September 1997. Dosage 10 g/l. The austere vintage still tastes a little austere! Savoury but admirable and with some richness on the palate by now. This should march on and on. Served with the 1990 and 1989. (JR)
Coppery and still with a very tight bead. Mushroomy and yeasty. Round and flattering – nothing of the austerity of some 1988s. Throat warming. Luscious. Rather sweet. But jolly nice and very fruity. Really rather subtle, but it seems much, much more than two years older than the 1990. (JR)
Disgorged 01 Dec 97. The deepest gold of these four. Smells definitely mature. Nutty, almost a hint of oxidation – very evolved. A certain sweetness hits the front palate. This if anything tastes even older than it really is. Definitely for drinking with food rather than as an aperitif. Very fresh, neat finish. More evolved than the regular Pol Roger 1988. (JR)
About the producer
Pol Roger is one of Champagne’s most respected Grandes Marques. While it is best known undoubtedly for its prestige cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, it also produces one of the finest non-vintage bottlings on the market.