torsdag 18. april 2013

Pol Roger 1986


Vinmøte Jon 17.4.13




Champagne Bereche & Fils NV Brut Reserve

Stram, elegant og syrerik. Mangler kompleksitet og litt for spinkel kropp. Distinkt syre og eplekart. Vi gjettet på en eldre vin. Base 2010. Degorgert oktober 2012. Vi har ikke drukket noe fra denne produsenten tidligere i Vinklubben. 87 poeng





Pol Roger 1986 Brut Chardonnay

Strågul farge mot gylden. En deilig aromatisk eldet champagne. Moden med ristede nøtter, champignon, skogbunn og snev av sherry. Ikke lett å ta denne som en Blanc de Blancs. Kim tok champagne og årgang ! 92-95 poeng.


Kim tok denne med på Champagne of the Yera 2011 (21.5.11) Frisk og strågul. Epler og autolyse med et forfriskende bitt. Servert litt varmere enn de andre. En rik og utviklet stil. Noe slapp mousse etterhvert i glasset. Deilig sjøpreg. Toner av honning. En rik og karakterfull champagne. En enormt surt og friskt bitt hever vinen synes jeg. På toppen nå ? 94 poeng.

Pol Roger founded this eponymously named house in 1849, although it was not quite as we know it today. The house was named simply Roger, and Pol, who was the son of a notary and owned no vineyards at all, made his living largely by making Champagne for other houses. But when the thriving family business came to his sons, Maurice and Georges, in 1900, they honoured their father by changing their surname to Pol-Roger. And thus the family business also became Pol Roger. Maurice was very much the public face of the company, whereas Georges was much more active in the blending and tasting rooms. Maurice Pol-Roger was a legendary figure in the history of Épernay and Champagne. His iconic status was assured when, as mayor of Épernay, he resisted the efforts of an invading German army to enter the town in 1914. The grateful townspeople continued to re-elect Pol-Roger as mayor until 1935 when, anxious that he may step down after so many years in post, they bestowed the honour upon him for life. But death comes even to mayors, and so in 1959 Pol Roger passed to Maurice's son, Jacques, and nephew, Guy. This partnership ran the firm until 1963 when the fourth generation, Christian Pol-Roger and Christian de Billy, took control. The two Christian's run the show still, with assistance from Hubert, son of de Billy, since 1988.

Although the business started without a scrap of vineyard to its name, a situation that persisted until 1955, Pol Roger currently owns 55 ha largely in and around Épernay. On the Côtes des Blancs these include sites in the Grands Cru villages Cramant, Chouilly and Avize, and Premier Cru villages Grauves and Cuis. On the Montagne de Reims they own vineyards in Grand Cru, Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzy, and Premier Cru Trépail, as well as numerous lesser vineyards. I always find great style and finesse in Pol Roger. There are a number of non-vintage and vintages cuvées available. The non-vintage cuvées, of which there are two, are characterised by the inclusion of one-third each of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. In my experience the Brut Réserve is an excellent example of the style. I have little experience of the demi-sec Rich. The Chardonnay Vintage is the Pol Roger blanc de blancs, and is very good indeed, and there is also a vintage Rosé. But the two wines on which the house has earned such a tremendous reputation are the vintage Brut and the prestige cuvée, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.

The Brut Vintage Champagne is one of Champagne's greatest wines, and is certainly a contender for 'wine of the vintage' in many years. It is a blend of 40% Chardonnay and 60% Pinot Noir, the only relatively recent exception being the 1966, which had 65% Pinot Noir, although some vintages from the first half of the 20th Century were up to 80% Pinot, and the 1928 was, exceptionally, 100% Chardonnay. The persistent high quality of the Brut Vintage is down to the combined efforts of the Pol-Roger family, with increasing input from Hubert de Billy, together with chef de caves James Coffinet, who was replaced in 1999 by Dominique Petit, who came to Pol Roger from Krug. 
Finally, I cannot fail to discuss in more detail Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. Pol Roger was Churchill's tipple, and his relationship with the house was cemented when entranced by Odette Pol-Roger, Jacques' wife, when he met her at the British Embassy in November 1944. Churchill became Pol Roger's best, and certainly most influential, customer. He named a winning race horse after Odette, which I think is a compliment. After his death, Pol Roger placed a black border around the labels of Brut NV shipped to the UK. And, in 1984, they released a prestige cuvée named after the great man, starting with the 1975 vintage. The launch of the wine was a grand affair, attended by Lady Soames, Churchill's daughter, who commented of her father, "I saw him many times the better for it, but never the worse." The blend for this cuvée is a closely guarded secret, but it is likely to be a Pinot-dominated cuvée, reflecting the style of wine that Winston preferred. My personal experience of mature vintages would seem to bear this out; the 1986 seemed very Pinot dominated. The 1985 was less so, but was not at full maturity. 



GODT KJØP: Lanson Gold Label 1998 brut er et meget bra kjøp. Høy syre, god fylde og god lengde. Den deler førsteplassen, men koster under halvparten av en Dom Perignon 2000.


Champagne Gold Label 1996

Gul og gylden Blanc de Blancs ? Sure rips, zalo og gule plommer. Aggresiv syre. Powerfull munnfølelse, litt for dominant syre. Kraftig og generelt sier folk det er mye flaskevariasjon på denne. Men de Vinklubben har hatt har vært bra. 91 poeng

Fra Vinforum:


Champagnene til Lanson kjennetegnes ved å være nonmalo, altså laget uten malolaktisk gjæring, noe som skaper en relativt syrlig stil. I tillegg er den sublime årgang 1996 i seg selv karakterisert ved en distinkt syre, og med en høy andel pinot noir resulterer dette i en svært rik og relativt syrlig champagne av eksepsjonell kvalitet. Den er god å drikke allerede nå, men vil fint tåle ti år til i kjelleren.



Lanson Gold Label Brut 1996
Champagne
#42609, kr 369
53% pinot noir og 47% chardonnay. Frisk, ren og eplepreget champagne med innslag av lime og toast på duft. Rik, syrlig, stram og flott vin med distinkt eplepreg også i munnen og sublim lengde. Intens, rik og elegant vin som fortsatt har mange år å gå på.
Mat: Aperitiff, fisk, kylling, juleribbe.

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