2018 Pol Roger, Brut Vintage

Victoria Mason, Bordeaux Index: “Pol’s new Brut Vintage evokes “golden” aromas and flavours, reminding me of that gloriously sunny 2018 summer – very much stone fruit in character, with peach, apricot and fleshy nectarine coming to mind, and a biscuity (ginger-nut!) autolysis. With time to warm up in glass, subtle spring blossom, orange peel and almond croissant emerge. Despite its tightly-wound core, the palate hints at the roundness and fullness to come and you can project forward to when this has filled out with bottle age and is weightier and sumptuous. For all the inherent power and ripe fruit, Pol’s signature precision is very evident, and there is a sapidity on the very persistent finish which balances the fruit richness. This is drinking now but is going to develop beautifully in the decades to come.”

The 2018 Brut Vintage, with a dosage of seven grams per liter, exhibits a delicate bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, pineapple, peach, sweet spices and pastry, followed by a full-bodied, rich and elegantly creamy mid-palate that segues into a fleshy core of fruit with a penetrating, long and saline finish. Admirers of Pol Roger’s style will love it.

The 2018 Vintage is a very pretty, open-knit Champagne to drink now and over the next 10-15 years. In a vintage in which so many wines are on the lighter side, the 2018 is super-expressive, with lovely depth and impeccable balance. The 2018 can be enjoyed now, but I would prefer to cellar it for a year or two. Hints of pear, dried flowers, kirsch and mint are nicely layered on a spine of fruit and structure. Drinking 2024-2038

From a year marked by above-average maturity—at least as of this writing—and a relatively early harvest that began on August 20th, Pol Roger’s 2018 Brut Vintage, disgorged in March 2024 with a dosage of seven grams per liter, offers a generous and expressive interpretation of this cuvée. Aromatically, it unfurls from the glass with notes of pear, peach, orange zest and pastry, with a touch of exotic fruit. On the palate, it is full-bodied, muscular and textural, with a core of rich, sweet fruit supported by succulent yet vibrant acidity, culminating in a long, enveloping finish. Stylistically, the 2018 vintage aligns more closely with the gourmand profiles of 2015 and 2012 rather than the more tensile 2016 or 2013. The cuvée is composed of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.

60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. The first vintage for new cellarmaster Damien Cambres. There will be a 2019 vintage but no 2020 or 2021. 100% malolactic conversion. Dosage 7 g/l. A weighty style with warmth and generosity on the palate. Yellow-plum and greengage fruit. Crisp acid keeping everything fresh. (AWH)

Very zesty with strong citrus notes. Still quite tight from magnum but very respectable. CEO Laurent d'Harcourt of Pol remarked that 'it had to be good after 2017' and that it was made in much bigger quantity. Much is expected of the 2019.