Pol Roger - Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill 2000 75cl Bottle

The wine displays a mid golden yellow colour and continuous stream of delicate bubbles. An elegant and powerful nose with toasted brioche over fresh quince, peach and apricot with an underlying floral character and high toned cinnamon spice with hints of lime leaf. A balanced palate with weight, power, a velvety texture and a long persistent pure acidity. With weight and complexity characteristic both of the terroir and vintage. A long aftertaste with a light touch of citric acidity bringing together a wine of undeniable majesty. Already drinking well now and will continue to improve over the medium term. The year of the millenium provided plenty of challenges for the vigneron. A warm midwinter and early spring was interspersed with hailstorms. May was dry, but in July there was severe
hail. Thankfully finne weather returned in August and it remained warm and dry to the end of the harvest. The potential degree was satisfactory, total acidity average to low and pHs fairly high. The tartaric acid content of the must was the lowest since 1970. The clear wines were very good to taste. Churchill's relationship with Pol Roger dates back to 1945, although he had been a loyal customer as far back as 1908. At a luncheon given by the British ambassador to France after the liberation of Paris, Churchill met the charming and captivating Odette Pol-Roger and began a friendship, indulged by his wife Clementine, which lasted until Sir Winston's death in 1965. Each year on his birthday, Odette would send him a case of vintage champagne. In honour of his friendship, Churchill
named one of his favourite racehorses after her, and made sure that she was invited to lunch at the British embassy every time he was in Paris. Despite never actually visiting 44 Avenue de Champagne, Churchill proclaimed it 'the most drinkable address in the world'. So close was his relationship with the family that, on Churchill's death, Pol Roger put black-bordered labels on the bottles destined for the UK. In 1975, Pol Roger went one step further and named their prestige cuvee after him, making it in the robust, mature style that he liked so much.