Having not tasted the 09 before, I was surprised by its youth. Plenty of freshness and verve coming through with what felt like a Chardonnay dominant cepage. Green apple and some fleshy character on the palate, but it felt very young indeed. I’ll plan to hold mine for a decade or more.
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Nebbiolos, white truffles, Volume VII (Chicago, IL): Been a while since I've crossed paths with a bottle of this -- it's not well represented here and the group I drink with doesn't tend to buy it. I expected a very autolytic champagne, which this was, though perhaps not to the same extent. Surprisingly not as ripe as I would have thought for the vintage either, in fact this has a lot more acidity than I might have expected. Very nice, but still a little more yeasty than I personally would want to drink regularly.
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Fruktig och komplex doft med inslag av brioche, röda äpplen, persikor, sherry, vanilj och grädde. Djup koncentrerad smak av äpplen, persika, citron, fruktmentol, nougat och grädde. Rund och välbalanserad men aningen sluten. Riktigt fin mineralitet som följer en hela vägen fram till den långa och finstämt peppriga finishen. Enligt mig ett vin som kräver både tid och fokus för att upptäcka alla härliga lager av doft.
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Briefly, needs some air (to lose a slightly aggressive initial acidity) and to be not too cold. Then it's very clean, refreshing, tart apples with some creamy brioche notes. Some sweetness on the nose that doesn't really translate to the palate although there is a slightly tropical fruit note there.
Overall, after some air, it's an excellent wine. But I must admit that I'm struggling to justify a price (as I understand it, this was a gift) around 4-5 times what I pay for almost equally good grower champagnes.
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still young but approachable. racy, linear, with apples, honey, and apricot. intense mousse with power and finesse. needs a few more years to develop but very nice at this stage.
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Lovely nose of bruised apples, citrus and bready elements. Very Pinot, very rich. Fresh on the palate, good balance. Lighter than I thought for a 2009 CWC. Generous dosage, very seductive, but could be a bit dryer for my taste. Solid, but not at the level of the 2012.
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My first Winston in a decade and a half, and much younger than the last (a case of '82s); a cuvée that's usually out of my price range, so this offer was unmissable. Tasted next to a 2012 non-prestige vintage from the same producer. Presented in a very thick dark blue card box, brown interior, closed with a metal popper on a leather(?) tab, including a small booklet.
The same mid straw colour as the other wine. Similar aroma (though no fennel), but deeper, darker, and richer. There's something very plum- or even prune-like, but an energy too, plus a whiff of sweetness, approaching butterscotch (but mildly so). A strong red apple character on the palate, with brutish acidity. Distinctly tropical later, with coconut cream and candied pineapple. The next day, still fully sparkling, with a full, generous fruit smell, a broad and integrated palate; still a faintly tropical note, verging on banana.
Tasting alongside the regular vintage was instructive; there's a definite house style, but I'm not sure the considerable markup for the prestige wine is warranted. This is very good, though not so much better, and while I like the understated presentation, it doesn't justify its price on that basis either (the bottles are identical, the labels very similar). This drinks very well, however, and will age effortlessly for a couple of decades at least (as will the regular vintage). [Cork + cage; 12.5% abv; Majestic, on offer at £138.75].
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Mid lemon, very fine mousse. Nose of apples, a floral element, mineral, and an autolytic character in the background. So expansive on the palate, very round and extremely persistent. Sweet ripe fruit, great acidic backbone. So open and moreish. Hard to resist. Drink now and over the next 10 years.
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Muted on opening, but begins to show well after 20 mins or so in the glass. Exceptional mouth feel and very full mousse. Honeyed acacia blossom nose, with hints of preserved lemon on top of a tight mineral core reminiscent of shoreline rocks.
Still very young, and plenty of potential to show better with some cellaring. Drinks best at a cool room temperature rather than chilled.
Ryan's ESPN Birthday: The 09 Pol Roger SWC is good, but not as great as other vintages. Broad and moderately rich, but without any of the unique characteristics that really makes it stand out from others. Happy to drink it, not exactly happy to buy it.
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As usual great balance characterizes Winston Chruchill. The leitmotiv of this 2009 is the intense minerality. Chalk, chalk chalk in the nose. Then reflected on the palate. The nose has also some very light daisy and pastry cream, yellow plum or, as others have noted, apple, specifically opal apple, a sweet apple not characterized by acidity. Very fine balance on the palate between its mineral structure, acidity and sweetness. All of them conjure a very long finish. That said, this vintage a tad too soft and sweet for my taste, probably also a consequence of the fact that I would have liked more acidity. The sweetness makes it a bit more ready and enjoyable sooner, but I wonder about the long-run: I do not think this vintage will hold well after 10 years.
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I've now had 2 bottles of this champagne. It is now my favorite. The one word I would state is: balance. The acidity, fruit, bubbles, complexity, softness are all completely balanced. Many champagnes that I've drunk--Cristal, Dom, Krug--are great, but they do not have the balance the SWC has. It's impeccably balanced. I can see why Winston Churchill drank 42,000 bottles of this. 97 points.
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At Brisbane Club private dinner. This is a wine for joyous imbibing with a foward nose of freshly cut red cherries, wild strawberry, yellow peach and delicious apples. There are touches of brioche and nougat that carry through as the savoury elements with the bowl of fruits evident on the palate which is both rich and fine in its drive and length. This is in no way austere yet manages to grip the mouth and persist beautifully. Pure enjoyment !
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Young blonde beauty here, but not infanticide. Fantastic effervescence, yellow apple, citrus, sweet brioche, lemon cupcake, pure as the driven snow. You could drink this every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never ever get sick of it.
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has the tiny bubbles and mouthfeel of Krug so I wasn't disappointed by the guess, more surprised that this opened much to my enjoyment. Yellow apple, lime, 7up, and toast oak influences. Very enjoyable.
Was poured blind. Aromatics of citrus and brioche. The palate showed a vanilla wafer and richer style, with yellow apple sauce, lemon cookie and some red berry when the wine was a bit warmer. Finishes with a citrusy lime, veering towards lime soda.
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Celebrating 4 negative COVID tests and 3yrs in London!
Medium gold color. Very effervescent. Reserved flavors of brioche and caramel. Gets better after being open for a few minutes. Medium minus finish. Probably awesome in 5-10yrs! I’m at 94.5.
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The latest Churchill is approachable already - at least compared to the previous ’08. Opens up with a bouquet of autolysis and ripe fruit that makes it stylistically complex and developed. It continues further with grapefruit and lemon and with great finesse towards chalk, minerals and steel. Classic Churchill bubbles that’s small and to some extent slightly absent. Butter roasted almonds and green apples. Delicate freshness to lift the fine ending.
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Manly, but friendly with som rounding notes already, hazelnuts, but, but also minerals and a firm acidity. Great, great balance - and impressive concentration. #Møntergade #JUJ-OT
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Ah, Sir Winston Churchill is back again. This time with a bit of a younger and better vintage on the books. Pours strong in the glass, with superbly persistent bubbles (lasting even 2 hours in the glass). Aromatics of peach, pineapple, green apple, lemon tart and brioche. Zippy acid and a really rounded structure. Very well-balanced and long. Good stuff.
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Darker straw yellow with concentrated bubbles. Dense and lightly powerful aromas with citrus, apple, deep saltiness and charming feminine details. Pretty fresh champagne that seduces with energetic light yellow fruit, biscuits and wonderfully deep saltiness. Refined. Good and long finish with this nice salt touch. Super Champagne. 93 points.
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4/19/2024 - Lord of the Bottles Likes this wine: 93 Points
Lovely champagne, if still a touch young. Brioche and lemon nose. Some white flower. 93+
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10/22/2023 - VINNICK Likes this wine: 94 Points
A beautiful champagne. Too young at this stage.
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9/15/2023 - jviz wrote: 95 Points
Having not tasted the 09 before, I was surprised by its youth. Plenty of freshness and verve coming through with what felt like a Chardonnay dominant cepage. Green apple and some fleshy character on the palate, but it felt very young indeed. I’ll plan to hold mine for a decade or more.
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9/2/2023 - EM_MB Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very good big champagne and that still packs a wallop. Kept improving with each glass. Drink or hold but nowhere near peak.
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2/20/2023 - achim_berg@icloud.com Likes this wine: 96 Points
Stunning! Very complex, very nicely mature and balanced. Great length.
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12/31/2022 - mitchellsuter Likes this wine: 98 Points
An incredible bottle
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12/31/2022 - KB_001 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Fantastiskt god! Bra på allt helt och perfekt matchad till hummer, havskräfta och pilgrimsmussla på nyår. Borde köpt fler...
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11/12/2022 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Nebbiolos, white truffles, Volume VII (Chicago, IL): Been a while since I've crossed paths with a bottle of this -- it's not well represented here and the group I drink with doesn't tend to buy it. I expected a very autolytic champagne, which this was, though perhaps not to the same extent. Surprisingly not as ripe as I would have thought for the vintage either, in fact this has a lot more acidity than I might have expected. Very nice, but still a little more yeasty than I personally would want to drink regularly.
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9/10/2022 - @chardonoir Likes this wine:
Fruktig och komplex doft med inslag av brioche, röda äpplen, persikor, sherry, vanilj och grädde. Djup koncentrerad smak av äpplen, persika, citron, fruktmentol, nougat och grädde. Rund och välbalanserad men aningen sluten. Riktigt fin mineralitet som följer en hela vägen fram till den långa och finstämt peppriga finishen. Enligt mig ett vin som kräver både tid och fokus för att upptäcka alla härliga lager av doft.
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8/19/2022 - Get Real Likes this wine: 91 Points
Enjoyable, relatively mild taste for a vintage champagne . Hard to understand the price point though.
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7/29/2022 - Paul852 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Briefly, needs some air (to lose a slightly aggressive initial acidity) and to be not too cold. Then it's very clean, refreshing, tart apples with some creamy brioche notes. Some sweetness on the nose that doesn't really translate to the palate although there is a slightly tropical fruit note there.
Overall, after some air, it's an excellent wine. But I must admit that I'm struggling to justify a price (as I understand it, this was a gift) around 4-5 times what I pay for almost equally good grower champagnes.
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7/17/2022 - zimmy07 Likes this wine: 93 Points
still young but approachable. racy, linear, with apples, honey, and apricot. intense mousse with power and finesse. needs a few more years to develop but very nice at this stage.
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7/15/2022 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 95 Points
Light lemon yellow color with abundant, steady, tiny bubbles; aromatic, autolytic, brioche, almond, lemon cream nose; delicious, creamy textured, brioche, lemon cream, almond palate with good balancing acidity; medium-plus finish (12.5% alcohol; sparkling wine composition cork)
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6/15/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Lovely nose of bruised apples, citrus and bready elements. Very Pinot, very rich. Fresh on the palate, good balance. Lighter than I thought for a 2009 CWC. Generous dosage, very seductive, but could be a bit dryer for my taste. Solid, but not at the level of the 2012.
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5/31/2022 - scyrene wrote: 90 Points
My first Winston in a decade and a half, and much younger than the last (a case of '82s); a cuvée that's usually out of my price range, so this offer was unmissable. Tasted next to a 2012 non-prestige vintage from the same producer. Presented in a very thick dark blue card box, brown interior, closed with a metal popper on a leather(?) tab, including a small booklet.
The same mid straw colour as the other wine. Similar aroma (though no fennel), but deeper, darker, and richer. There's something very plum- or even prune-like, but an energy too, plus a whiff of sweetness, approaching butterscotch (but mildly so). A strong red apple character on the palate, with brutish acidity. Distinctly tropical later, with coconut cream and candied pineapple. The next day, still fully sparkling, with a full, generous fruit smell, a broad and integrated palate; still a faintly tropical note, verging on banana.
Tasting alongside the regular vintage was instructive; there's a definite house style, but I'm not sure the considerable markup for the prestige wine is warranted. This is very good, though not so much better, and while I like the understated presentation, it doesn't justify its price on that basis either (the bottles are identical, the labels very similar). This drinks very well, however, and will age effortlessly for a couple of decades at least (as will the regular vintage). [Cork + cage; 12.5% abv; Majestic, on offer at £138.75].
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5/9/2022 - streethawk wrote:
Mid lemon, very fine mousse. Nose of apples, a floral element, mineral, and an autolytic character in the background. So expansive on the palate, very round and extremely persistent. Sweet ripe fruit, great acidic backbone. So open and moreish. Hard to resist. Drink now and over the next 10 years.
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4/20/2022 - cursitor Likes this wine: 95 Points
Muted on opening, but begins to show well after 20 mins or so in the glass. Exceptional mouth feel and very full mousse. Honeyed acacia blossom nose, with hints of preserved lemon on top of a tight mineral core reminiscent of shoreline rocks.
Still very young, and plenty of potential to show better with some cellaring. Drinks best at a cool room temperature rather than chilled.
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2/3/2022 - SonnyChiba wrote: 95 Points
This is really good champagne - super rich and full, not always the style I prefer, but this hit me right tonight.
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1/21/2022 - Satoshi Nakamoto Likes this wine: 91 Points
Ryan's ESPN Birthday: The 09 Pol Roger SWC is good, but not as great as other vintages. Broad and moderately rich, but without any of the unique characteristics that really makes it stand out from others. Happy to drink it, not exactly happy to buy it.
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1/1/2022 - marcus_francois wrote: flawed
Bad provenance, tasted really short in the finish and a bit advanced.
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12/25/2021 - atbarbar Likes this wine: 94 Points
As usual great balance characterizes Winston Chruchill. The leitmotiv of this 2009 is the intense minerality. Chalk, chalk chalk in the nose. Then reflected on the palate. The nose has also some very light daisy and pastry cream, yellow plum or, as others have noted, apple, specifically opal apple, a sweet apple not characterized by acidity. Very fine balance on the palate between its mineral structure, acidity and sweetness. All of them conjure a very long finish. That said, this vintage a tad too soft and sweet for my taste, probably also a consequence of the fact that I would have liked more acidity. The sweetness makes it a bit more ready and enjoyable sooner, but I wonder about the long-run: I do not think this vintage will hold well after 10 years.
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12/25/2021 - Sfflyer123 wrote: 97 Points
I've now had 2 bottles of this champagne. It is now my favorite. The one word I would state is: balance. The acidity, fruit, bubbles, complexity, softness are all completely balanced. Many champagnes that I've drunk--Cristal, Dom, Krug--are great, but they do not have the balance the SWC has. It's impeccably balanced. I can see why Winston Churchill drank 42,000 bottles of this. 97 points.
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7/10/2021 - drjb wrote: 95 Points
At Brisbane Club private dinner. This is a wine for joyous imbibing with a foward nose of freshly cut red cherries, wild strawberry, yellow peach and delicious apples. There are touches of brioche and nougat that carry through as the savoury elements with the bowl of fruits evident on the palate which is both rich and fine in its drive and length. This is in no way austere yet manages to grip the mouth and persist beautifully. Pure enjoyment !
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7/5/2021 - D'Yquembe Mutumbo wrote: 96 Points
Young blonde beauty here, but not infanticide. Fantastic effervescence, yellow apple, citrus, sweet brioche, lemon cupcake, pure as the driven snow. You could drink this every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never ever get sick of it.
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6/10/2021 - affordableCollector wrote: 95 Points
Fine bubble stream. Light straw, in color. Lemon, lime, lemon cookie, yellow apple, hazelnuts, morning pastry, chalk, mineral. Needs 5-15 years.
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5/11/2021 - Sieegs Likes this wine: 95 Points
Young, but terrific champagne. 95 now, but no reason this score will not increase with some age.
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3/29/2021 - brigcampbell wrote:
Blind - guessed Krug
has the tiny bubbles and mouthfeel of Krug so I wasn't disappointed by the guess, more surprised that this opened much to my enjoyment. Yellow apple, lime, 7up, and toast oak influences. Very enjoyable.
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3/29/2021 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Was poured blind. Aromatics of citrus and brioche. The palate showed a vanilla wafer and richer style, with yellow apple sauce, lemon cookie and some red berry when the wine was a bit warmer. Finishes with a citrusy lime, veering towards lime soda.
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2/10/2021 - PMJak11 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Celebrating 4 negative COVID tests and 3yrs in London!
Medium gold color. Very effervescent. Reserved flavors of brioche and caramel. Gets better after being open for a few minutes. Medium minus finish. Probably awesome in 5-10yrs! I’m at 94.5.
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1/3/2021 - IvanLi Likes this wine: 95 Points
Smooth, rounded and complex champ. White fruits, red fruits, biscuits and all the other good stuff. Well worth the money.
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1/1/2021 - Fantomas Likes this wine: 99 Points
Stunning champagne. My all time favourite.
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12/27/2020 - Bobhelge wrote: 94 Points
The latest Churchill is approachable already - at least compared to the previous ’08. Opens up with a bouquet of autolysis and ripe fruit that makes it stylistically complex and developed. It continues further with grapefruit and lemon and with great finesse towards chalk, minerals and steel. Classic Churchill bubbles that’s small and to some extent slightly absent. Butter roasted almonds and green apples. Delicate freshness to lift the fine ending.
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12/25/2020 - Winederluster Likes this wine: 98 Points
Absolutely stunning. Balanced, high acid. Soft biscuit notes, cream, MLF. Bruised yellow apples and pears.
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11/15/2020 - beatles wrote: 94 Points
Manly, but friendly with som rounding notes already, hazelnuts, but, but also minerals and a firm acidity. Great, great balance - and impressive concentration.
#Møntergade #JUJ-OT
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11/14/2020 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 96 Points
A beauty of a vintage. Crisp with notes of honey and structure. Medium finish
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9/26/2020 - grapenomad wrote: 91 Points
Ah, Sir Winston Churchill is back again. This time with a bit of a younger and better vintage on the books. Pours strong in the glass, with superbly persistent bubbles (lasting even 2 hours in the glass). Aromatics of peach, pineapple, green apple, lemon tart and brioche. Zippy acid and a really rounded structure. Very well-balanced and long. Good stuff.
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9/25/2020 - canan wrote: 94 Points
BYO (Michaels place): Intense red apple fruit. Creamy and lush but also a bitter aftertaste. Some sweetness but also a lot of acidity.
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6/14/2020 - Andre Brattland wrote: 93 Points
Darker straw yellow with concentrated bubbles. Dense and lightly powerful aromas with citrus, apple, deep saltiness and charming feminine details. Pretty fresh champagne that seduces with energetic light yellow fruit, biscuits and wonderfully deep saltiness. Refined. Good and long finish with this nice salt touch. Super Champagne. 93 points.
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