Limited Stocks. Price £130.00. 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 much more complex and richer wine.   Tasting Notes: The wine displays a pale yellow-gold colour with delicate green glints and a remarkable effervescence in the glass.   On the nose the first notes are of pink grapefruit coupled with almond, imparting a delightful freshness and delicacy to the wine, which progressively yield to aromas of white flowers and apricot.   On the palate, the texture is invigoratingly fresh and zesty, typical of this outstanding vintage.   The wine is harmoniously balanced and full-bodied. Initially flavours of green apple and citrus fruit prevail, however these give way to creamy aromas of butter and meringue, contributing to an overall impression of outstanding complexity. The finish is characterised by an enchanting vivacity and long-lasting aromas.   Tasting notes according to Messieurs Laurent d’Harcourt & Dominique Petit   The 2008 Cuvée: The 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs is made exclusively from Chardonnays selected from the best “crus” of the “Côte des Blancs”: Oiry, Chouilly, Cramant, Avize and Oger. Produced in limited quantities this cuvee has been aged for 7 years in cellars before being released onto the market.   Dosage: 7g/l   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. The wine undergoes a full malolactic fermentation prior to final blending. 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.   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.