Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2008

One of the great Champagnes both for its richness and its longevity, this latest incarnation is superb. The wine's richness is linked to the ripe fruit and the dominance of Pinot Noir in the blend. It also shines in the perfect balance between the texture, the minerality and the integration of the fruit. It can be enjoyed now, but it will be better from 2020 and then for many years to come.

Released in October of last year, Pol Roger's 2008 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is showing brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with a complex bouquet of waxy citrus rind, dried white flowers, freshly baked bread, iodine and honeyed yellow apple. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, powerful and vinous, with a deep and multidimensional core, broad structural shoulders and considerable concentration, girdled by tangy acids and displaying a youthfully frothy but incipiently fine mousse. The finish is long and intense. This is a terrific rendition of this reliably superb cuvée and well worth seeking out.

Sourced in grand cru vineyards and blending Pinot Noir with Chardonnay, Pol Roger's 2008 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill displays an intense straw-yellow/white-golden color and opens with a beautifully deep, fresh, concentrated and beautifully aromatic bouquet of perfectly ripe tropical fruits, refreshing lemons, very fine vanilla and brioche aromas. The attack on the palate is fresh and finessed, and in the following seconds, the 2008 reveals great airiness, precision, purity and intensity with a firm, persistent structure in the long, refreshing, perfectly balanced and mouthwateringly salty finish. The 2008 Winston Churchill is a highly complex yet focused and vitalizing prestige cuvée of great, great finesse, chalky expression and exciting elegance. It already drinks great but also indicates immense aging potential. It's most likely one of the finest of this century and one of the greatest Churchills of modern times. Tasted from lot L82002894D in July 2018. Disgorgement date unknown. The wine will be released in the second half of this year.