1996 Pol Roger Brut

Pol Roger was Winston Churchill's favourite champagne. As either a tribute to the great man, or a brilliant marketing exercise, Pol Roger have since named their premier wine "the Winston Churchill". Pol Roger is also by appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, and it's served at royal functions. That 2 of the 3 most powerful British people in the last 100 years have preferred Pol Roger is high praise indeed. I'm not sure what the other one (Tony Blair) drinks, but one would assume that he is a Moët & Chandon slut.

In its NV incarnation, Pol Roger prices on par with the fashion label champagnes of Moët & Chandon and Veuve Cliquot. Those also both have proud histories. You can buy a book at Borders called "the Widow Cliquot" (widow in french is Veuve) that will tell you how Mrs Cliqout, widowed in 1805, built one of the worlds largest Champagne houses. She is also credited with the invention of the riddling rack, allowing for the commercialisation of sparkling wine by making the degorgement process more efficient.

Both Moët & Chandon and Veuve Cliquot, probably the two most recognised brands of Champagne, are now owned by a fashion conglomerate, LVMH - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Huge amounts are spent on marketing, and the quality must suffer as a result. The profits from the above mentioned book probably go to LVMH, as its cover is a near facsimile of the Veuve Cliquot label, and I would imagine that they take those profits. I would be surprised if they subsidised the quality of the wine.

You will be happy to hear that Pol Roger is still owned and run by the descendants of Pol Roger the man.

Which bring us to our present wine, the 1996 Pol Roger Brut, in all its historical glory. The 1996 vintage is regarded as one of the best in Champagne in the last 100 years, perhaps the best ever. At this stage in its development the wine has a light to medium golden hue. A strong line of acid runs through the wine, and granny-smith apples predominate on the palate. A rich and smoothly complex wine, it is consolidating nicely. It has a bouquet of rare book, or pleasant old house (or perhaps even wads of paper-based [not polymer] currency). I think I may even have smelt a tinge of illicit hemp - sheer brilliance.

Score: 96/100

Why you want this wine: Because it's good, no, great. And it isn't a fashion statement.