Pol Roger : Pure Extra Brut

Disgorged in September 2017, Pol Roger's NV Extra Brut Pure has a strikingly clear and refreshing bouquet of white fruit and floral aromas, along with very fine brioche tones. On the palate, this undosed Champagne is pure, linear, and fresh, revealing a good, tightly structured, persistent finish with stimulating (lemon/grapefruit) bitters. Assembling all three main grape varieties of the region in equal parts, the wine is aged for at least four years on the lees. Tasted June 2018.

This firm Champagne is tightly knit and shows linear drive, with subtle notes of crunchy pear, preserved lemon, spring blossoms and salted Marcona almond providing just enough flesh for the racy bead and acidity. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Best after 2026. 100 cases imported.

Cooked apples and lemons with nougat, light caramel and ginger on the nose. Medium to full-bodied with a creamy texture from the fine bubbles that spread across the palate. Plenty of flavor but not overpowering. Drink now.

Pale golden yellow with silver reflections and a fine mousse. Nuances of yellow stone fruit, a hint of quince and cookie, grapefruit zest and some mineral, smoky notes. Taut and tightly woven on the palate with white fruit nuances and a finesse-rich acidity supporting the extract sweetness in the core. Finishes salty-lemony, a complex food companion. (PM).

Light golden colour with a fine, vivid mousse. Generous nose with some maturity and pastry/butter notes, alongside ripe citrus, pear and plum. Bone dry and rather full on the palate, well balanced with a fresh backbone, mild creaminess, a rather Extra Brut style, yet with generous fruit that lends a pleasant sweet coating, fine pastry and butter notes with candied citrus flavours and a long, lingering finish.

The NV Champagne Cuvée Pure Extra Brut has a pale silver/yellow to medium yellow hue and is medium-bodied, with a powdery texture that showcases delicate notes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Elegant, with a pillowy mousse, it was disgorged in November 2024. Based on 2020, it retains good focus, and in this vintage it feels more like Chardonnay. It’s a simpler wine in the range, but a nice one to drink over the coming 6-7 years. It carries zero dosage. They used to call this Brut Nature, then changed the name to Extra Brut, but it will return to Brut Nature in the future.

Abundant mousse, a palate focused on white fruits and citrus, the wine is quite lively. On the palate, it reflects the style of this kind of non-dosage wine, with lovely tension, but the mid-palate volume and the grape ripeness level are not particularly extravagant.

Dry, yes but with softness as well, this is a finely judged Champagne. The balance is between the fruit, mineral texture and generous ripeness. The bottling could do with some aging, drink from 2023.