New Release. Price £550.00. Tasting Notes: The Brut Vintage 2012 is a delicate pale golden colour, underpinned by a persistence of refined bubbles. Elegant and subtle, the nose is full of freshness and opens with the scent of white peach, developing into richer dried fruit, followed by enticing notes of flowers, gingerbread and mild, toasted sweet spice. Finely balanced on the palate with good weight of Pinot fruit and a complex structure and terrific length. Still young, stylish and discreet, the 2012 has great ageing potential. The Cuvée: The 2012 Brut Vintage from Champagne Pol Roger is made from the traditional house vintage blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 20 Grands and Premiers crus vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. Produced only in limited quantities the Brut Vintage 2012 has been aged for 7 years in cellars before being disgorged and released onto the market. Vinification and Maturation: The must undergoes two débourbages (settlings), one at the press house immediately after pressing and the second, a débourbage à froid, in stainless steel tanks at 6°C over a 24 hour period. A slow cool fermentation with the temperature kept under 18°C takes place in stainless steel, with each variety and each village kept separate until final blending. The wine undergoes a full malolactic fermentation. Secondary fermentation takes place in bottle at 9°C in the deepest Pol Roger cellars (33 metres below street level) where the wine is kept until it undergoes remuage (riddling) by hand, a rarity in Champagne nowadays. The very fine and persistent mousse for which Pol Roger is renowned owes much to these deep, cool and damp cellars. The Story of the 2012 Vintage: On the whole winter was mild and dry, however there was a cold snap at the beginning of February. Following cool and rainy weather in early spring, unseasonal warm weather prevailed in late March, favouring an advanced budbreak. This was followed in turn by rain, mild weather and five spells of frost in April and May, of which two gave cause for concern. Furthermore, some vineyards were hit by hail on a number of occasions. These climatic challenges made for great variation in the development of the grapes. Hot, sunny weather from late July through to the first days of September, ensured that the grapes reached an ideal maturity. The yields were low, but the grapes were in excellent health. Harvesting lasted from 10th to 26th September. The 2012 crop showed a potential average alcohol content of 10.6° and a total acidity of 7.8 g/l H2SO4. Food Pairings: A pure delight of a Champagne to be savoured by itself or as an aperitif with foie gras on toasted brioche fingers. It is also the undisputed partner of rich dishes such as chicken supreme with chanterelle mushrooms or sweetbreads cooked with morels. Grape Varieties: 60% Pinot Noir 40% Chardonnay Technical Information: Dosage: 7g/l Available: 75cl Bottle, 150cl Mag, 300cl Jeroboam Vintage According to Pol Roger: Champagne’s geographical location engenders capricious weather. For this reason, since their foundation in 1849 Pol Roger has observed the tradition of not releasing a vintage-dated champagne unless the climatic conditions permit the production of grapes of outstanding ripeness. A vintage champagne must, above all else, be a balanced champagne. ­This balance depends on the right blend of healthy grapes, a good potential alcohol and correct acidity. ­The first criterion for declaring a vintage wine is its capacity to age. Devotees who have the patience to age their champagnes are rewarded with a more complex and richer wine. Background Information: Pol Roger, a Champenois from Aÿ, founded his champagne house in Epemay in 1849. Over the next 50 years, until his death in 1899, he built his business into one of the most respected in Champagne and, in particular, forged strong trade links with Britain. The founder was succeeded by his sons, Maurice and Georges, who changed their names to Pol-Roger by deed poll and, thereafter, by a further three generations of his direct descendants. To this day the company remains small, family-owned, fiercely independent and unrivalled in its reputation for quality Pol Roger own 87 hectares of prime vineyard sites spread over the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de Ia Marme, the Vallée d’Epemay and the Côte des Blancs. This supply is supplemented by grapes purchased on long-term contracts with growers based on the best sites in the region. Total production at Pol Roger is in the region of 1.5 million bottles per annum, making them one of the smaller of the Grandes Marques. The cellars extend some 7 kilometres beneath the streets of Epernay and are carved out of the local chalk over three levels, the deepest known as the ‘cave de prise de mousse’ at 33m below street level. As the name suggests this is where the wine undergoes its secondary fermentation in bottle. This deep cellar is at 9°or less, rather than a normal cellar temperature of 11-12°, thus prolonging this fermentation. They are amongst the coolest and deepest cellars in the region, a factor which contributes to the famously fine bubbles in Pol Roger’s champagnes.