Pol Roger Brut Vintage 2015
(Champagne, France) - [DM 94] [JS 94] [WA 94] {WS 93] [VM 92]

About this Champagne:
The Brut Vintage 2015 from Champagne Pol Roger is made from the traditional house vintage blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 20 Grands and Premiers crus vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. Produced only in limited quantities the Brut Vintage 2015 has been aged for in our deep cellars before being disgorged and released onto the market.

Tasting Notes:

The Brut Vintage 2015 displays a lovely golden hue with silver highlights. The subtle first nose opens with notes of fleshy ethereal hints of rose petals.

Expressive and full of freshness, the bouquet is reminiscent of patisserie, pastries and dried nuts.

It then evolves to reveal aromas of honey and apple jelly.

The palate is round and elegant. A slight zesty quality sets off the notes of brioche, patisserie and toast, combined with liquorice and dried nuts.

The silky texture is accompanied by a lovely lingering acidity right through to the finish.

The 2015 vintage brings us a warm and very fine champagne.

Vinification

The must undergoes two débourbages (settlings), one at the press house immediatly after pressing and the second, a débourbage à froid, in stainless steel tanks at 6°C over a 24 hour period. A slow cool fermentation with the temperature kept under 18°C takes place in stainless steel with each variety and each village kept seperate. The wine undergoes a full malolactic-fermentation prior to final blending. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle at 9°C in the deepest Pol Roger cellars (33 metres below street level) where the wine is kept until it undergoes remuage (riddling) by hand, a rarity in Champagne nowadays. The very fine and persistent mousse for which Pol Roger is renowned owes much to these deep, cool and damp cellars.

94 points - Decanter:
"This is indeed a very fine Pol Roger, finesse, complexity and signature Pol pedigree writ large all over its beaming face. Lively gold with a silver aureole and small, elegant bubbles, the 2015 seduces immediately with its welcoming sunny disposition, spring flowers, citrus fruit and hints of brioche all conspiring in the seduction scene. This is, if anything, accentuated on the palate, with Viennese patisserie, soft honey and hints of frangipane and nougat all tempting the senses. Beneath it all classic Pol Roger harmony, every component playing its part and not a hair out of place. Dignified and regal on the finish, the 2015 manages both to excite with its sheer vivacity and reassure with its composure."

94 points - James Suckling:
"Lots of spicy apple with sliced lemons and pears and hints of stone. Full-bodied with soft and layered bubbles that caress your palate. Dusty and succulent. Creamy finish."

94 points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"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."

93 points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"A graceful Champagne, with delicate notes of white cherry, poached apricot, pickled ginger and chalky minerals dancing across the palate, carried by the finely detailed mousse. Buoyed by racy acidity, this is mouthwatering, almost crunchy, on the spice- and smoke-tinged finish."

92 points - Vinous:
"The 2015 Brut Vintage is a very pretty Champagne to drink now and over the next decade or so. Gentle hints of apricot, spice, dried flowers and baked apple tart lend quite a bit of nuance. There’s gorgeous vinous intensity to the 2015 accompanied by a whole range of citrus, floral and chalk overtones that emerge over time, adding brightness as well as cut. All the elements are so nicely balanced."