Pol Roger 2016

The 2016 is a typically Pinot-led blend for Pol Roger, with 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. 7g/l dosage for this finessed, delicate vintage with fruit from Montagne de Reims and the Cote des Blancs. Bright and green-tinged straw in colour, the nose is airy and floral on this year's vintage Pol. Hints of lemon verbena, iris, match-stick reduction and a whiff of baking spices are all gentle and cool. The palate follows in the same vein, with lively acids cutting through the richer autolytic notes and giving a lifted, savoury but fresh style. there are bass ntoes that provide the classic Pol richness, but the vintage has offered an approcahable finesse and brightness. This can be enjoyed young, it is not a dense or brooding vintage here. More baking spices and white flowers linger on the refined finish.

Based on 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, the 2016 Champagne Vintage Brut is released only after 6-7 years on the lees (sur latte). It pours a straw hue and displays a more expressive profile on opening, with notes of tangerine and fresh flowers, its red fruit coming through with fresh red raspberry and peppery spice. It’s medium-bodied and rounded through the palate, with excellent structure, powerful concentration, and a long finish. This has a refined yet powerful feel and will be a wine with significant longevity and slow maturation over the next 15-20 years. True to the house style, it has a sturdy backbone and is emblematic of a fantastic vintage champagne from Pol Roger. The mousse is pinpoint and rounded on the finish. Drink 2024-2040.

Very tight, dense nose with some honey and orange notes on the palate. Already very drinkable with the acidity not especially noticeable, although presumably it will gain in aromatic complexity with bottle age. I found it less than enthralling when I first tasted it and gave it a score of 16.5 but when I was served a glass blind from my re-stoppered bottle a few days later, I was impressed. So is the lesson, don't rush your pleasures?

The 2016 Brut Vintage reveals a complex, gourmand bouquet with aromas of ripe orchard fruits, nectarine, pastry, nuts, sweet spices and ripe white fruits, signs of a warm vintage. Full-bodied, broad and vinous with a fleshy core of fruit, it’s rich and elegant with a penetrating, saline finish. It will drink at its peak in five to 10 years.