Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill
Pol Roger had been the favourite champagne of Sir Winston Churchill since 1908,[5] with Churchill even naming one of his racehorses "Pol Roger".[6] After Churchill's death in 1965, Pol Roger placed a black border around the labels of Brut NV shipped to the United Kingdom.[7] Odette Pol-Roger (née Odette Wallace (1911-2000), a granddaughter of the francophile art collector Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet[8]), whom Churchill had befriended at a party at the British Embassy in Paris in 1944, attended his funeral nearly 21 years later.[9] In 1987, when the trees on Churchill's country retreat, Chartwell, were devastated by the Great Storm, the Pol-Roger family paid for much of the replanting.[10]
In 1984, Pol Roger introduced the Pinot noir-dominant[7] Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.[1] The first vintage of this cuvée (the one introduced in 1984) was the 1975, only released in magnum format. It has been followed by the 1979, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2015 vintages.[11] This cuvée is typically released around ten years after its vintage year, and its exact varietal composition is a very closely guarded secret.
Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill replaced the Pol Roger P.R. Reserve Speciale at the top of the range. Reserve Speciale was a 50% Chardonnay and 50% Pinot noir blend from 100% rated grand cru vineyards. First released with the 1971 vintage, it continued to be produced alongside Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill until the 1988 vintage, when its production was terminated as Pol Roger felt no need to have two competing prestige cuvees.
