While Pol Roger's vintage Champagnes can always be counted on to be among the top wines of any given vintage, their 2016 represents a special success for the Maison. Trying weather conditions during the growing seasons (i.e. frost, hail, rain, and extreme heat spikes) resulted in a reduced crop; but Indian summer weather at harvest saved the day and resulted in balanced, wonderfully expressive base wines especially for the firm's estate grown Pinot Noirs. This 2016 is blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from twenty different Grand and Premier crus in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs. At harvest, the musts from each village were given a separate, double cold-settling regime, to obtain the most pristine juice possible. Afterwards, the clarified musts underwent a very slow, cold fermentation in stainless steel in order to provide the production team with an array of vibrant blending options. After blending and bottling, this brut was aged on the yeast in Pol Roger's hundred-foot-deep caves for seven years before it was hand riddled and disgorged. The following remarks by Audrey Frick are spot on:
JEB DUNNICK 95 POINTS - "Based on 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, the 2016 Champagne Vintage Brut is released only after 6-7 years on the lees (sur latte). It pours a straw hue and displays a more expressive profile on opening, with notes of tangerine and fresh flowers, its red fruit coming through with fresh red raspberry and peppery spice. It’s medium-bodied and rounded through the palate, with excellent structure, powerful concentration, and a long finish. This has a refined yet powerful feel and will be a wine with significant longevity and slow maturation over the next 15-20 years. True to the house style, it has a sturdy backbone and is emblematic of a fantastic vintage champagne from Pol Roger. The mousse is pinpoint and rounded on the finish. Drink 2024-2040." 11/23
WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The 2016 Brut Vintage reveals a complex, gourmand bouquet with aromas of ripe orchard fruits, nectarine, pastry, nuts, sweet spices and ripe white fruits, signs of a warm vintage. Full-bodied, broad and vinous with a fleshy core of fruit, it’s rich and elegant with a penetrating, saline finish. It will drink at its peak in five to 10 years."
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