Pol Roger Non Vintage

Dosage 10 g/l. Aged 36 months on lees. Cooked apple, biscuit, savoury and long. Delicious salted-bread aftertaste. The absolute prototype of champagne, and I appreciate the generous dosage.

Pol Roger's Brut Reserve, otherwise known as white foil, is a testament to the consistency of quality-driven winemaking at this house. The blend is equal parts of Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay with 25% of reserve wines. Pale straw in colour with a bright nose of poached pear, confit citrus, vanilla sugar and pastry dough, there is an airy ripeness to the fruit that lifts the aromatics with notes of white flowers. The palate has the same lift, with vibrant citrus blossom and silky white stone fruits, bolstered by cleverly judged dosage. The mousse is generous but fine, creating a silky mouthfeel. Touches of white strawberry come through, together with more notes of patisserie; this is classy, elegant Champagne. Seamless, moreish and finishing with refreshing acidity, it is easy to see why this cuvée from Pol has such a fantastic reputation.

This has impressively energetic style with bold lemon, peach and berry aromas, in quite pure mode. The palate delivers a boldly vinous impression with a succulent drive of citrus and hazelnut flavors. Drink now.

One of Champagne's finest houses, Pol Roger produces among the most consistent ranges of all the Grandes Marques....Only some 20% of any given year will be vintaged, as the maison privileges its NV Brut Réserve—and indeed, while many non-vintage Bruts fluctuate in quality, Pol Roger's "white foil" bottling is both remarkably reliable and long-lived—which ranks as one of the region's best values. Today, the house ferments all its base wines in stainless steel at low temperature, followed by manual riddling.