The 2018 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut is a fantastic rendition of this cuvée and one of the best recent releases from this famous Champagne house. It follows the traditional Pol Roger vintage blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, sourced from 20 different Grand and Premier Cru vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs. Each village is vinified separately before the final blend is assembled, allowing Pol Roger to preserve both precision and complexity, getting the best of the vintage. We have tasted many great bottles of this cuvée over the years, even a 1979 a couple of years ago, and it has always been a Champagne that punches well above its weight at sub-$100 pricing. The 2018 vintage brings ripe fruit and breadth, but this remains beautifully fresh and balanced, with citrus, white peach, pastry cream, fresh butter, and a long, tangy finish. This is one of the vintage’s big successes, showing great right now while having a decade-plus of life ahead. At this low pricing, this is an excellent example not to miss from Pol Roger!
Wine Advocate (Yohan Castaing) 93+ points! "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."
Antonio Galloni 93 points! "The 2018 Brut 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. (Drink between 2024-2038)"
Decanter (Tom Hewson) 93 points! "Pol Roger's 2018 vintage is showing many of the fine facets of the year upon release already, open and giving in style with roasted pear, ripe apricot and grapefruit skin, lightly creamy and developing richness in pecan and brown pastry. The Pinot Noir leads, relatively structured for the year while showing hints of the smoke and spice to come with further age. A wine that flows with some of the ease and charm of 2018, but that promises a fairly early – if rewarding – unfolding in bottle. (Drink between 2024-2034)"
2018 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut
2018 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut
The 2018 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut is a fantastic rendition of this cuvée and one of the best recent releases from this famous Champagne house. It follows the traditional Pol Roger vintage blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, sourced from 20 different Grand and Premier Cru vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs. Each village is vinified separately before the final blend is assembled, allowing Pol Roger to preserve both precision and complexity, getting the best of the vintage. We have tasted many great bottles of this cuvée over the years, even a 1979 a couple of years ago, and it has always been a Champagne that punches well above its weight at sub-$100 pricing. The 2018 vintage brings ripe fruit and breadth, but this remains beautifully fresh and balanced, with citrus, white peach, pastry cream, fresh butter, and a long, tangy finish. This is one of the vintage’s big successes, showing great right now while having a decade-plus of life ahead. At this low pricing, this is an excellent example not to miss from Pol Roger!
Wine Advocate (Yohan Castaing) 93+ points! "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."
Antonio Galloni 93 points! "The 2018 Brut 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. (Drink between 2024-2038)"
Decanter (Tom Hewson) 93 points! "Pol Roger's 2018 vintage is showing many of the fine facets of the year upon release already, open and giving in style with roasted pear, ripe apricot and grapefruit skin, lightly creamy and developing richness in pecan and brown pastry. The Pinot Noir leads, relatively structured for the year while showing hints of the smoke and spice to come with further age. A wine that flows with some of the ease and charm of 2018, but that promises a fairly early – if rewarding – unfolding in bottle. (Drink between 2024-2034)"
