Pol Roger 2015

Pol Roger's 2015 Brut Vintage is generous and demonstrative, bursting with aromas of golden orchard fruit, nectarine, warm bread, buttered popcorn and orange oil. Full-bodied, broad and vinous, it's rich and fleshy, with a sweet, layered core of fruit, racy acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse. Stylistically, the 2015 has more in common with the richness and concentration of 2012 than the chiseled raciness of 2013. It's a beautiful bottle in the making. Drink 2021 - 2041.

The 2015 Champagne Brut Vintage is 60% Pinot Noir, with the rest Chardonnay, and takes on the more noble feel of the house style. The nose is fragrant and delicate with flint and wet stone, red plum, orange blossom, and spice. The palate has structure and feels the strength of the Pinot Noir and the warmth of 2015, although it has the underlying structure to last. Dry, balanced, and salty, it will need some time before opening. Allow 1-2 years and drink over the following two decades.

Very pale in colour. An immediately appealing open nose of apples, fresh brioche, zesty limes and slate. Very clean and precise. Rounded and smooth textured on the palate with a generous melony, quite fleshy fruit balanced by classic Pol Roger zip and minerality. This has lovely balance and is forward and immediately approachable. Much broader and fuller than the 2013 with emphasis on ripeness, plumpness and succulence; this is a delicious wine to be enjoyed from the off but with enough concentration and structure to go the distance too.

Very powerful, emphatic nose that suggests the riches to come. Fine mousse. Clean as a whistle. A hint of crème pâtissière with a very crisp, long finish. Super-accessible already – though not for the zero-dosage brigade.