2009 Pol Roger - Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill Vinotheque
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Tasting notes
A few years after its disgorgment now, the 2009 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill has digested its dosage and is beginning to offer up real complexity. Mingling aromas of freshly baked bread, honeycomb, crisp peach, pear and subtle hints of dried fruits, it's medium to full-bodied, sapid and vinous, with bright acids, a pearly mousse and a long, saline finish. Exhibiting more structure than was apparent on release, this has always been a very approachable Churchill, yet it is really benefiting from age.
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Magnum. Showing distinct maturity here, with really lovely cooked fruit, bread and white chocolate. Very saline and savoury, a big contrast to the 2012 which has so much richness. Toast, light body, tingly acid. A more angular style on the palate, but beautifully balanced. (RH)
The 2009 Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is a heady, explosive Champagne. Ample and deep, the Churchill is so expressive today. Apricot, tangerine oil, mint, baked apple tart and spice all flesh out. I would give the 2009 at least a year or two in bottle, as it is a bit tight at this stage. Even so, time in the glass brings out a feeling of raw power that is impossible to miss.
Immediate complexity on the nose – salted bread, green apple, a hint of butter. Sweet spice too, and a mushroom earthiness that shows the age. Rich and full on the palate, with superb concentration and persistence, leaving lots of umami/soy complexity on the finish. Is it Burgundian? Certainly vinous, and there is both marine minerality and savoury fruit, but in a different guise to Burgundy. Wonderfully expressive to drink now, but has a good decade of ageability if not more. (RH)
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.