Very complex nose with a wide spectrum of candied citrus, dried peach and mirabelle tart aromas. Bold and rich, particularly on the mid-palate, but with a great deal of subtlety and delicacy for the vintage. This is already delicious, but at the finish you really taste how this has been made for the long term. Great drive and persistence right at the end. Drink or hold. August 2023.

The 2015 Brut Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill shows off the savory side of the vintage to great effect. Hints of dried pear, sage, mint, dried flowers, lemon oil and chamomile open gradually in this mid-weight, lithe edition of Pol Roger's tête de cuvée. The 2015 unfolds nicely with time in the glass, but I wouldn't think of opening a bottle anytime soon. Readers will find a nervy Winston Churchill marked by notable freshness and vigor more than size. This is a fine effort in a vintage that has proven to be far trickier than most observers originally envisioned. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged September 2022. May 2023.

Deep lemon toned colour with the faintest touch of peach. Overt and rich on the nose, there is an abundance of sweet, luscious fruit. With just a couple of minutes in the glass, toast and brioche layered deliciousness starts to surface alongside the strawberry, red apple and cherry fruit. The year’s hallmark vegetal character is well hidden behind the red fruit abundance. Full and fleshy on the round yet well-built palate, showing lovely succulent fruitiness and fine persistence. An approachable and early blooming vintage of Cuvée Winston Churchill with sweet fruity appeal. September 2022 disgorgement tasted. May 2023.

A strong effort in a less-acclaimed vintage, Pol Roger's newly released 2015 Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill opens in the glass with aromas of confit citrus, ripe orchard fruits and dried white flowers mingled with hints of honeycomb, freshly baked bread and anise. Medium to full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, with bright acids, chalky structuring extract and a pinpoint mousse, this inherently rather rich, gastronomic Champagne is quite tightly wound out of the gates and will reward a bit of bottle age. Stylistically, it is somewhat reminiscent of a modern-day version of the 1985.

‘Full, generous and voluptuous’ is how 5th generation family member Hubert de Billy describes the 2015 vintage of Pol Roger. Having decided against declaring 2014, the house was far from anxious about the flamboyant 2015 season, which managed somehow to combine periods of humidity with such intense mid-summer heat that there was almost a drought. Hubert describes the September conditions, however, as ‘a perfect dream scenario’ for harvest and the best fruit from 20 key grand and premier cru villages was earmarked for this wine. Six and a bit years down the track and there is little to challenge such confidence. 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. Disgorged: September 2021. Dosage: 7 g/L. Simon Field MW.

As expected, Pol Roger has succeeded well with his heavily Pinot-dominated prestige champagne Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill this year. It is not difficult to achieve muscle-pumped volume in 2015. Many have succeeded, but maintaining freshness is much more difficult. Thanks to the fact that Verzy and above all Verzenay have the coolest vineyards in all of Champagne and that they are at the same time the most important villages together with Aÿ in this wine that you can get the freshness through a gunpowder and flint-scented minerality where salty notes from the ancient seabed creates cool fresh sensations despite the low acidity. In the same way that Jean-Baptiste did in 2015 when he created Roederer Cristal, Pol Roger has also done this a bit tricky hot year. They have searched for the purest chalk and taken even more of the wine from the finest locations in the Montagne de Reims. Most people who taste this wine, I heard today at a journalist lunch, mainly notice the fact that the wine is big and embrace richness. It is true that, above all, the aroma has a bready, chocolate-saturated and buttery roundness and a sweet fruit ripeness that impresses. But the structure and the tight minerality impress me even more. Drink between 2030-2040 for full maturity. May 2023.