Champagne Pol Roger

History of Champagne Pol Roger

The Roger family was established in Aÿ, a renowned village at the foot of the Montagne de Reims, when Pol Roger's father, a notary suffering from an incurable illness, was forced to cease his activity. On 2 January 1849, the young Pol, aged eighteen, made his first wine sale to a négociant in Aÿ. The business grew rapidly and the family moved to Épernay in 1851, on the avenue de Champagne. As early as 1855, the founder made a decisive strategic decision: to favour brut champagnes, very lightly dosed, still rare at the time but particularly appreciated by the British. The gamble paid off, and the house became a supplier to the British Crown from 1877 onwards. A rare legal distinction also marks its history: the descendants obtained the right to bear their father's first name and surname as a family name, giving rise to the Pol-Roger family.

Upon the founder's death in 1899, his two sons Maurice and Georges took over the business, one overseeing sales, the other winemaking. The following year brought catastrophe: part of the cellars and buildings collapsed, swallowing more than one and a half million bottles. The house recovered and navigated the century. In November 1944, at a lunch held at the British Embassy in Paris following the Liberation, Winston Churchill tasted the sumptuous 1928 vintage and met Odette Pol-Roger. From this encounter grew a lasting friendship: the Prime Minister would name one of his racehorses Pol Roger, have his cases delivered to Chartwell and 10 Downing Street, and describe the 44 avenue de Champagne as the most drinkable address in the world, despite never having been able to visit. Christian de Billy, great-grandson of the founder, who passed away in 2022, was behind several major creations: the Rosé in 1961, the vintage Blanc de Blancs in 1965 and, in 1984, the launch at Blenheim Palace of the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill on the 1975 vintage, in magnum only. Following major modernisation works carried out between 2011 and 2013, Damien Cambres succeeded Dominique Petit as head of the cellars in 2018, and the house celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2024 by unveiling its Édition Vinothèque collection.

Terroirs and Vines of Champagne Pol Roger

The estate's own vineyard covers more than 90 hectares, spread across prime sites between the Vallée de la Marne, the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs, providing the house with approximately 55% autonomy in grapes, complemented by long-standing partnerships with growers who have remained loyal for decades. This mosaic of plots, classified for the most part as Grands Crus and Premiers Crus, makes it possible to draw each year on a complete palette to construct perfectly balanced blends.

Each grape variety finds its preferred terroir here. Pinot noir, the source of structure, body and power, comes principally from the grand crus of the Montagne de Reims. Meunier, the guarantor of freshness, roundness and fruitiness, is sourced from several crus of the Vallée de la Marne and the Épernay region. Chardonnay, the bearer of aromatic complexity, finesse and lightness, comes from Épernay and some of the finest crus of the Côte des Blancs. The chalky and marly-calcareous subsoil of these hillsides, draining and thermally regulating, imparts to the wines their saline tension and that recognisable chalky minerality. The house also possesses one of the most singular assets in Champagne: nearly ten kilometres of underground galleries spread over three levels, including the famous secondary fermentation cellar dug thirty-three metres beneath the street, where the temperature naturally stays around 9 °C throughout the year — two to three degrees cooler than in a classic Champagne cellar.

Winemaking at Champagne Pol Roger

The house's expertise rests on a dual conviction: the purity of fruit and slowness. The grapes are pressed gently, then the musts ferment plot by plot in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. Since 2011, the entire vinification and ageing process has been carried out exclusively in stainless steel, with no passage through wood — a deliberate choice to preserve the aromatic brilliance and precision of the wines. The modernisation works made it possible to install tanks of very varied sizes, from 20 to 160 hectolitres, in order to isolate the finest lots destined for the vintage wines and the prestige cuvée. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in full, bringing suppleness and stability.

Next comes the most distinctive signature of the house. The second fermentation in the bottle takes place in the deepest and coldest cellar, at 9 °C, which considerably slows the formation of bubbles and produces that effervescence of exceptional finesse and persistence that has made Pol Roger's reputation. Riddling is still carried out entirely by hand by professional riddlers employed full-time, a practice that has become exceedingly rare in Champagne. Ageing on laths ranges from four years for the Brut Réserve to seven, ten years or more for the vintage cuvées and the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, consistently exceeding the regulatory minimums. The house permanently holds a stock of several million bottles, equivalent to several years of sales, and the regular incorporation of 25 to 30% reserve wines guarantees the consistency of style that has built its reputation.

The cuvées of Champagne Pol Roger

Brut Réserve: nicknamed the White Foil on account of its white capsule, it is the calling card of the house and one of the most recognisable non-vintage bruts in Champagne. An equal blend of the three Champagne grape varieties sourced from approximately thirty crus, it incorporates 25 to 30% reserve wines to ensure consistency. After a minimum of four years in the cellar, it displays a pale gold colour, an effervescence of extreme finesse, a nose of pear, quince, citrus zest, honeysuckle and brioche, and a palate that is at once round and vibrant, punctuated by a saline and lightly spiced finish. The Champagne for every occasion, equally suited to the aperitif as to the table.

Pure Extra Brut: a non-dosage cuvée, it reconnects with the house's original vocation, which was already producing very dry champagnes from 1855 to seduce the British market. Elaborated on the same tripartite blend as the Brut Réserve but without any expedition liqueur, it offers a reading of the Pol Roger style in its purest form: a frank and crystalline attack, saline tension, aromas of citrus, white flowers and chalk, and a straight, refreshing finish. Ideal with oysters, shellfish, raw fish and Japanese cuisine.

Rich Demi-Sec: launched in 2001, this demi-sec cuvée retains the house's balance and finesse despite a more generous dosage. Built on the same three-variety base, it plays on roundness and indulgence without ever tipping into heaviness, with notes of ripe peach, candied apricot, honey and pastry, carried by an acidity that keeps the whole perfectly lively. An ideal pairing with fruity desserts, foie gras and sweet-and-savoury preparations.

Brut Vintage: produced in limited quantities and only in the greatest years, it is built on the house's traditional blend, generally around 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay, sourced from around twenty Grands Crus and Premiers Crus of the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. After a long rest on laths, it reveals a golden colour, a complex nose of candied citrus, white fruits, flowers and toasted notes, and a vinous, dense and precise palate with a fine ageing potential. A gastronomic champagne, superb with roasted poultry or a fish in sauce.

Blanc de Blancs Vintage: created in 1965, this 100% vintage chardonnay comes exclusively from the finest crus of the Côte des Blancs. It embodies the most refined and most precisely chiselled facet of the house style, with a luminous green-gold colour, a nose of white flowers, fresh citrus, almond and chalk, then a lively, vertical and mineral palate, extended by a saline finish of great length. A high-precision blanc de blancs that gains remarkably in complexity with age.

Rosé Vintage: launched in 1961 at the instigation of Christian de Billy, this vintage rosé is produced by blending, with a base of chardonnay and pinot noir receiving a small proportion of red wine sourced from the house's finest pinot noir crus. The colour is an elegant salmon pink, the generous nose evokes raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant and a hint of spice, while the palate combines vinosity, freshness and finesse. It pairs equally well with tuna tartare, duck breast or a red fruit dessert.

Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill: the absolute flagship of the house, created in homage to the British statesman by respecting the qualities he sought in his champagne, namely robustness, breadth and a certain maturity. It is composed exclusively of grapes from Grands Crus of pinot noir and chardonnay already planted during Churchill's lifetime, the exact blend remaining one of the best-kept secrets in Champagne, with a clear dominance of pinot noir. Produced only in the very greatest years and always released later than the house's other vintages, it offers a brilliant gold colour, a bubble of exceptional finesse, a deep nose of candied fruit, brioche, dried fruit and toasted notes, and a powerful, creamy palate of remarkable length. It ranks among the greatest prestige champagnes in the world and can be cellared for several decades.

Édition Vinothèque: unveiled on the occasion of the house's 175th anniversary and the inauguration of its new premises, this collection brings together older vintages of Brut Vintage, Blanc de Blancs and Rosé disgorged at the same time as their initial release, then returned to the deepest cellar in Épernay, thirty-three metres underground at a constant 9 °C, for extended ageing without ever being moved. These rare bottles, available in infinitesimal quantities, reveal an unprecedented expression combining power and freshness, with tertiary aromas of candied fruit, wax, toasted notes and undergrowth, and a texture of striking depth.