France · Champagne

Pol Roger

Pol Roger is Épernay's most distinguished independently-owned Champagne house, founded in 1849 and still owned and managed by the Pol-Roger family — one of only a handful of family-controlled grandes maisons in Champagne. The house is internationally famous for its association with Sir Winston Churchill, who famously declared Pol Roger the 'most acceptable form of light refreshment' and consumed a bottle at lunch nearly every day from 1908 until his death in 1965. In tribute, the house named its prestige cuvée 'Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill' and black-bordered its labels on Churchill's death — the black border was retained for two years before returning to the standard design. The house farms approximately 92 hectares of estate vineyards supplemented by long-term supply contracts with Grand Cru and Premier Cru growers. The cellars, cut into the chalk beneath Épernay, maintain a constant temperature of 9–10°C — ideal for slow, cool fermentation and extended lees ageing. Pol Roger ages all its wines longer than the legal minimum; the NV Brut Réserve is held 3 years on lees, the vintage 6 years, and the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill typically 8–10 years. The Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill is the house's finest wine and one of the most consistently praised prestige cuvées in Champagne — the blend and vineyard sources are kept secret, though it is widely understood to be Pinot Noir dominant. The 1982, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 are the celebrated modern vintages.