Pol Roger

Pol Roger founded his eponymous house in 1849 at age 18 in Aÿ, with the family settling in Épernay in 1851. He had inherited modest means and a willingness to work the long hours required to build a Champagne brand from nothing. The Maison grew steadily through the late nineteenth century, surviving phylloxera and the cellar collapse of 1900 (when an entire above-ground portion of the cellars sank into the chalk caves below). The family has retained operational control through six generations; Laurent d'Harcourt is today the Président du directoire, with Hubert de Billy in a commercial role and Véronique Collard de Billy as President of the Supervisory Board. The Maison's founder is buried in Épernay under a tombstone reading 'Pol Roger 1831-1899'.

• Founded 1849 by 18-year-old Pol Roger in Aÿ; the house moved to Épernay in 1851
• Survived phylloxera and the 1900 cellar collapse that sank an above-ground building
• Six generations of continuous family ownership and operation
• Laurent d'Harcourt is Président du directoire; the de Billy family holds commercial and supervisory-board roles

Pol Roger farms approximately 92 hectares of estate vineyards, supplemented by long-term grower contracts. The Maison's vineyard portfolio includes meaningful blocks in Cuis and Avize for Chardonnay (the basis of the blanc de blancs cuvées), Montagne de Reims Grand Cru villages for Pinot Noir structure, and various Vallée de la Marne villages for Pinot Meunier. The estate is small relative to the major Maisons but provides a strong base for Pol Roger's signature blend balance, which leans Chardonnay-led for finesse rather than the Pinot-dominant style of Aÿ-based competitors like Bollinger.

• Approximately 92 hectares of estate vineyards
• Concentration in Cuis and Avize (Chardonnay) for blanc de blancs cuvées
• Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims Grand Crus provides structural backbone
• Long-term grower contracts supplement estate sourcing

Sir Winston Churchill was Pol Roger's most famous customer, drinking an estimated 42,000 bottles across his lifetime and famously declaring 'In victory, deserve it; in defeat, need it' as his Pol Roger maxim. After his death in 1965, the Maison created the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill prestige cuvée in his honor, first released from the 1975 vintage in 1984. The cuvée is vintage-only, anchored by Pinot Noir from villages selected for power and structure, intended to express the wine style Churchill himself preferred. The Maison added black-bordered labels in the UK after Churchill's death in 1965.

• Churchill drank an estimated 42,000 bottles of Pol Roger across his lifetime
• Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill first released from the 1975 vintage in 1984
• Vintage-only, Pinot Noir-led prestige cuvée intended to express Churchill's preferred style
• Black-bordered labels marked Churchill's death in 1965

Pol Roger publishes the disgorgement date on its bottles, part of a cellar discipline focused on consistency. Most Maisons disgorge across multiple dates and intermingle bottles in shipments, which can produce subtle bottle variation. The Maison also maintains an unusually deep cellar inventory of bottles aging on lees, with the wines given extended lees aging before disgorgement. Damien Cambres has been cellar master since 2018, succeeding Dominique Petit. The disgorgement-date discipline is part of why Pol Roger has cultivated a quiet reputation for consistency.

• Disgorgement date published on the bottle as part of the Maison's cellar discipline
• NV cuvées given extended lees aging above the AOC minimum
• Vintage cuvées given extended lees aging before disgorgement
• Quiet reputation for consistency built on cellar discipline

Pol Roger Brut Réserve White Foil NV is the Maison's volume face: a Chardonnay-Pinot Noir-Pinot Meunier blend in roughly equal proportions with Chardonnay-led freshness and Pinot Noir backbone. Beyond the NV, the Maison produces Brut Vintage, Brut Rosé Vintage, Pure (Extra Brut, no dosage), Blanc de Blancs Vintage (Côte des Blancs Chardonnay), and the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill prestige cuvée. The house style sits between the Pinot-driven structural intensity of Aÿ-based Maisons (Bollinger) and the lifted Chardonnay-led finesse of Côte des Blancs grower-bottlers (Pierre Gimonnet, Larmandier-Bernier). The Maison's ownership independence and small size give Pol Roger an unusual capacity to maintain stylistic consistency without the volume pressure that has reshaped the major LVMH brands.