The nose of the 1998 Champagne Cuvée Winston Churchill Vinoteque is layered and complex, with decadent aromatics of preserved grapefruit, pastry cream, croissant, Mirabel plum, and frangipane. The palate is refined and inviting, with an elegant, rounded mousse that softens the linear drive that holds it together with lovely focus. Elegant and refined all the way through, with a lovely feel, it’s aging beautifully, and while 2002 is a more powerful vintage, this offers a lot of balance and finesse, with a refreshing spine of acidity seaming it together. Drink it over the coming 10-15 years. Disgorged in 2008.

See score and full tasting note at champagneclub.com.

The 1998 Brut Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill opens with intriguing, exotic notes of smoke, cured meats and tar. This is a big, sweeping Sir Winston Churchill endowed with layers of perfumed ripe pears, quince, flowers and spices in a style that balances a generous expression of fruit with acidity and minerality. Everything is in the right place in this delicate yet deeply satisfying Champagne. This bottle was disgorged at the beginning of 2007. Winston Churchill is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with Pinot playing the leading role. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2023. Pol Roger is one of Champagne’s historic houses. I have long admired the estate’s Champagnes for their superb balance and gracefulness. This year I found the best wines at the bottom and top of the ranges, while the mid-level wines revealed some inconsistency, something that is not uncommon among properties of this size. The tete de cuvee, Sir Winston Churchill, named after the estate’s most famous customer, is often among the finest wines in the region. Lot numbers are stamped on the corks, but it would be nice to see Pol Roger indicate the disgorgement date on its labels. Importer: Frederick Wildman and Sons Ltd, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700

Tasted at the Winston Churchill lunch at The Square. This bottle was disgorged in 2007 and bottled with a dosage of 8gms/L. It has a vibrant, almost Zen-like nose with superb delineation, those signature notes of clear honey and brioche developing with time. The palate is elegant, fresh and slightly creamier in texture than the ’99, very balanced and leading to a weightless, Linden leaf-tinged finish. Very fine. Drink now-2025. Tasted March 2010.

Light gold. Intensely aromatic nose offers a complex bouquet of smoky orchard and pit fruit aromas, along with exotic orange zest and white pepper. Deep and chewy, displaying impressively concentrated but brisk pear and bitter citrus pith flavors and an undercurrent of buttery brioche and lees. Finishes with palate-staining persistence and a subtle anise quality. As usual, a stunner.

Very developed, with a certain musty-cellar funk that delivers mature satisfaction. Fresh green-apple skin adds enough zip and balance, and there is wonderful persistence too. Despite the development of the nose there are a few more years of cellaring potential on the palate. (RH)