Retail Team | November 7, 2023
In 1944, several months after Allied forces liberated Paris from Nazi Germany, Prime Minister Winston Churchill attended a lunch at the newly reopened British Embassy at 39 rue de Faubourg S Honoré.
There, along with several European leaders including General Charles de Gaulle, Churchill toasted to victory with a bottle of 1928 Pol Roger Champagne.
Historical accounts vary, but either at that lunch or one held a year later, Churchill found himself seated next to one of the Grand Dames of Champagne, Odette Pol-Roger. It was a moment that kindled an enduring relationship between one of the 20th century’s greatest statesmen and one of France’s most celebrated producers of vintage Champagne.
Today, we’re thrilled to share a trio of vintages commemorating this historic friendship, the Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill. First released by the Grand Marque house in 1984, this renowned prestige cuvée is crafted in the robust, muscular style that Churchill favored. All the vineyards sourced for this cuvée were planted in Churchill’s lifetime, and the blend continues to be dominated by Pinot Noir, as it was in Churchill’s lifetime.
Sourced exclusively from Grand Cru plots, hand-riddled and matured deep in Pol Roger’s damp Epernay cellars, the Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill releases continue to be recognized among France’s greatest sparkling wines.
From an excellent year, the powerful, tightly coiled 2012 is a standout – “of the three finest renditions of Sir Winston Churchill this millennium,” says Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
The 2013, the 20th release of the cuvée, is airy and precise, redolent of light, flaky pastry but with the stuffing to age for years. Savory and nervy, the 2015 displays a full-bodied robustness that mirrors the character of its namesake.
