2008 Champagne Pol Roger, Rosé, Brut

A delicious birthday treat: 2008 Pol Roger Rosé was my most recent lockdown bottle. After a glass or two, the realisation hit me that something this wonderful should surely not be enjoyed only on one day of the year. The Pinot-focused fizz was showing superbly with an abundance of red-berried fruit alongside touches of dried strawberries and toast. A fabulous apéritif, it also drank superbly with my starter of seared scallops and samphire. I needn’t have opened anything else.
Isabella Cameron, Experiences Manager (July 2020)

A perennial favourite in the UK, Champagne Pol Roger is undoubtedly one of the most popular Champagnes on our list and 2008 joins a pantheon of great Champagne vintages, rivalling 2002, 1996, 1990 and 1988. Pol Roger Vintage Rosé - they do not make a non-vintage - is often mooted by the critics as one of the best on the market and the newly released 2008 does nothing to dispel that assertion.

The house remains family owned and maintains a reputation of crafting wines of elegance and finesse capable of extended cellaring. The 2008 has been produced from a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay drawn from some 20 Premier and Grand cru sites on the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. In order to obtain its delicate colour and subtle nose 15% Pinot Noir, from selected vineyards in Bouzy, Ambonnay and Cumieres, is vinified “en rouge” and added to the blend prior to the second fermentation.

Only produced in limited quantities this is delicious now as our tasting last week affirmed but it will probably be at its best in a year or so and then over the next 5 years.
Sourced only from Grand and Premier Cru sites and having slumbered in Pol's deep cool cellars for six and a half years, this outstanding Rosé fully merits the accolades that have been gleaned by house and wine alike. The blend is made up of 35% Chardonnay, the balance Pinot Noir, of which 15% has been added as red wine.

The classic vintage conditions, cool and then sunny at all the right times, is echoed by the harmonious balance of the wine, a symphony of subtle red fruit charm, with hints of vanillin and grapefruit on the finish providing even greater complexity. The pink peppercorn colour presages a gravitas which is more than merited by a rich yet vinous mouthfeel and a gently spicy finish.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Like the 2006, Pol Roger have crafted yet another seductively mellow rosé in 2008. A gentle summer pudding feel with soft strawberries and blackcurrants along with hints of elderflower and watered down lemon juice.

There is an enthusiastic introduction to the palate of richly weighted ripe red fruits whose upfront appeal precedes a languid ease and the merest hint of minerality behind. Plenty of substance and length here, serious but deceptive with an almost casually carefree finish. 2017-2022.
Peter Newton, Private Account Manager