A wine and a super cuvée we always argue is better younger than older and this 2015 felt about right on the money. Always a bit special, rich and very giving a very much in the “English Typer of Taste” as the French would say which is richer and with decent use of oak in its elevate. Pretty 93 from us
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1. NV Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blanc Enfers (Extra Brut) 2. 2015 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 3. 2015 Cristal 4. 2012 Leclerc Briant Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro 5. NV Selosse Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron 6. 2007 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth 7. NV Selosse V.O.
2015 Winston Churchill - This was pretty easy to identify because of the rich, creamy mousse and high acidity. It was between this and the 2015 Cristal, but the dark bottle immediately told me which one this was. Palate showed tart green apple, loads of minerality (chalk and saline). This is in a great window right now for those who love crisp Champagnes with nice balance and acidity, and of course loads of fine bubbles! Easily 96+ and may still improve.
Note: I typically love this style more than the oxidative style when drinking them without food, but with salty foods (think caviar), I actually preferred the oxidative style which went remarkably well with the food!
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Palate: Fresh and gently ripe green apples, nice drying hay and dried earth. Clean fruits on the palate here, along with a distinct, dried, spiced herbal note which adds nice complexity.
Not sure if I would like this with a touch more age or a bit younger. Nice now but also seemed to be missing something, not sure what.
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Pol Roger Wine Society 150th Anniversary Tasting (Churchill War Rooms): Someone said soapy on the nose, and I started to get that - not sure if autosuggestion. Probably some reductive note that blew off? This is very energetic, vibrant, there's substance there and length. Clearly a grand wine but more than the B de B has the slightly candied characteristic I associate with 2015 champagne.
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A solid bottle right here folks. In the same league as other Churchills, with perhaps a little less power and spice than the 2013 and missing the yeast note that the 2012 carries, this 2015 is a well-honed specimen, albeit juvenile and primary, that even now offers invigorating flavors of yellow, orange-ish, and green citrus, yellow and brown pear, fresh ginger (signature Churchill), and striking minerality. A really nice electricity here, which is common in the Churchill lineage.
Grab a bag of kettle chips and go to town. Glad I have a few of these to lay down for a while. Best to hold a few years but a treat to try now. The Churchill has proven to be a very consistent label.
The current release. A wine with authority, rich and complex but with a subtle finesse, powerful but elegant, with effortless balance and a silky mousse, full-flavoured and succulent in keeping with its warm vintage, perfectly integrated acidity and a layered finish with excellent length. Drinking very well already, and with a very good future.
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Grand Jury du Vin - Republic of Georgia; 11/1/2023-11/9/2023 (Republic of Georgia then stopover in Paris and Dijon): Expressive nose displaying concentrated yellow and white fruit, baked apple, lemon curd, pear, brioche, honey, sweet spices and limestone. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of generous perfectly ripe yellow and white fruit, rich yet pure, energetic and precise, bright acidity, strong mineral, and a seamless long sweet yellow fruit driven finish with a hint of brioche and honey at the end. This is generous and delicious but also very precise and energetic. Drinking really well at the moment but will age beautifully for the next couple decades.
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Le Tour de Champagne Tasting (Olofskapel, Amsterdam, NL): Trade tasting, brief note. A wine of majesty, rich and vinous but precise, brioche and vanilla, beautifully balanced, silky, inner peace, long finish with gentle bitters. Long life.
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This wine is like Usain Bolt lining up at the starting blocks: full of tension and potential before it eventually explodes out of the gate. It is clearly far too young to drink now, even being eight years old at release. The color is still just a medium straw yellow, relatively light; the mousse is very bubbly right now as well. Initial nose is very tight and hard to coax out. After a few minutes the potential complexity starts to dazzle: lemon peel, hazelnuts, papaya, and very ripe strawberries. The structure is super concentrated, with acidity very present and the underlying fruit just beginning to evolve. Doesn’t yet show any typical brioche notes as secondary nose has not yet begun to evolve but it’s very clear to me this will eventually match the intense acidity to all come into balance. Already shows great length on the finish. Absolutely wonderful, I wouldn’t touch it for ten years - if you can hold off that long, you won’t regret it.
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Broad and rich yellow fruits, vanilla and some dried herbal notes. Very direct style. Acidity feels a bit imprecise. It’s just too fruit driven in my opinion and it’s lacking in finesse and elegance. Great fruit depth and overall a nice complex structure. Not perfectly balanced and a bit too sweet. Long finish. This is young and definitely needs some more time, but in my opinion it is one of the weaker vintages of Winston Churchill in the past decade. I’ll completely skip this vintage. (IG)
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Fresh nose, fruits and dough of bread. Still closed though. Acidic, full bodied concentrated palate - some ripe fruit. Not very developed. Long finish.
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Lay & Wheeler Summer tasting: It's clearly good but I didn't enjoy it that much. It's quite highly-strung, vertical. When you go looking for it there is an inner ripeness: lemon pie, creme pat, but on the palate right now it's dry and austere. Nobody's opening this now anyway so it's academic - and I'm sure it'll be great in future.
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4/20/2024 - Papies wrote: 93 Points
A wine and a super cuvée we always argue is better younger than older and this 2015 felt about right on the money. Always a bit special, rich and very giving a very much in the “English Typer of Taste” as the French would say which is richer and with decent use of oak in its elevate. Pretty 93 from us
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4/14/2024 - MN Wine Junkie Likes this wine: 96 Points
Champers and Napa Cabs Blind - Fun Times! (Chateau Simms): This was presented in a blind tasting of some high-end Champagnes:
1. NV Ulysse Collin Blanc de Blanc Enfers (Extra Brut)
2. 2015 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill
3. 2015 Cristal
4. 2012 Leclerc Briant Château d'Avize, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Zéro
5. NV Selosse Lieux-dits Extra Brut Ay La Côte Faron
6. 2007 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth
7. NV Selosse V.O.
2015 Winston Churchill - This was pretty easy to identify because of the rich, creamy mousse and high acidity. It was between this and the 2015 Cristal, but the dark bottle immediately told me which one this was. Palate showed tart green apple, loads of minerality (chalk and saline). This is in a great window right now for those who love crisp Champagnes with nice balance and acidity, and of course loads of fine bubbles! Easily 96+ and may still improve.
Note: I typically love this style more than the oxidative style when drinking them without food, but with salty foods (think caviar), I actually preferred the oxidative style which went remarkably well with the food!
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4/14/2024 - bsumoba Likes this wine: 96 Points
Very lifted on the nose. Fruit driven with some tropical nose notes. Maybe a tad bitter on the finish, but improved tremendously with air.
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4/14/2024 - WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 94 Points
Eyes Wide Shut - Day 2 (A quiet place): Nose: Floral fresh and light fruits with white flowers, nice minerals.
Palate: Fresh and gently ripe green apples, nice drying hay and dried earth. Clean fruits on the palate here, along with a distinct, dried, spiced herbal note which adds nice complexity.
Not sure if I would like this with a touch more age or a bit younger. Nice now but also seemed to be missing something, not sure what.
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3/13/2024 - lozatron Likes this wine:
Pol Roger Wine Society 150th Anniversary Tasting (Churchill War Rooms): Someone said soapy on the nose, and I started to get that - not sure if autosuggestion. Probably some reductive note that blew off? This is very energetic, vibrant, there's substance there and length. Clearly a grand wine but more than the B de B has the slightly candied characteristic I associate with 2015 champagne.
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1/12/2024 - csimm wrote: 95 Points
A solid bottle right here folks. In the same league as other Churchills, with perhaps a little less power and spice than the 2013 and missing the yeast note that the 2012 carries, this 2015 is a well-honed specimen, albeit juvenile and primary, that even now offers invigorating flavors of yellow, orange-ish, and green citrus, yellow and brown pear, fresh ginger (signature Churchill), and striking minerality. A really nice electricity here, which is common in the Churchill lineage.
Grab a bag of kettle chips and go to town. Glad I have a few of these to lay down for a while. Best to hold a few years but a treat to try now. The Churchill has proven to be a very consistent label.
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12/26/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 Points
The current release. A wine with authority, rich and complex but with a subtle finesse, powerful but elegant, with effortless balance and a silky mousse, full-flavoured and succulent in keeping with its warm vintage, perfectly integrated acidity and a layered finish with excellent length. Drinking very well already, and with a very good future.
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11/7/2023 - Bullsgate Likes this wine: 94 Points
Toasty aroma with brioche and apple tones. Needed two hours to open up, reveals a superb taste of apples, citrus and a long finish.
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11/5/2023 - dcwino wrote: 96 Points
Grand Jury du Vin - Republic of Georgia; 11/1/2023-11/9/2023 (Republic of Georgia then stopover in Paris and Dijon): Expressive nose displaying concentrated yellow and white fruit, baked apple, lemon curd, pear, brioche, honey, sweet spices and limestone. Excellent concentration, layers upon layers of generous perfectly ripe yellow and white fruit, rich yet pure, energetic and precise, bright acidity, strong mineral, and a seamless long sweet yellow fruit driven finish with a hint of brioche and honey at the end. This is generous and delicious but also very precise and energetic. Drinking really well at the moment but will age beautifully for the next couple decades.
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10/9/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 Points
Le Tour de Champagne Tasting (Olofskapel, Amsterdam, NL): Trade tasting, brief note. A wine of majesty, rich and vinous but precise, brioche and vanilla, beautifully balanced, silky, inner peace, long finish with gentle bitters. Long life.
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9/29/2023 - hrazdiiv Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine is like Usain Bolt lining up at the starting blocks: full of tension and potential before it eventually explodes out of the gate. It is clearly far too young to drink now, even being eight years old at release. The color is still just a medium straw yellow, relatively light; the mousse is very bubbly right now as well. Initial nose is very tight and hard to coax out. After a few minutes the potential complexity starts to dazzle: lemon peel, hazelnuts, papaya, and very ripe strawberries. The structure is super concentrated, with acidity very present and the underlying fruit just beginning to evolve. Doesn’t yet show any typical brioche notes as secondary nose has not yet begun to evolve but it’s very clear to me this will eventually match the intense acidity to all come into balance. Already shows great length on the finish. Absolutely wonderful, I wouldn’t touch it for ten years - if you can hold off that long, you won’t regret it.
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9/12/2023 - DrZett wrote: 92 Points
Broad and rich yellow fruits, vanilla and some dried herbal notes. Very direct style. Acidity feels a bit imprecise. It’s just too fruit driven in my opinion and it’s lacking in finesse and elegance. Great fruit depth and overall a nice complex structure. Not perfectly balanced and a bit too sweet. Long finish.
This is young and definitely needs some more time, but in my opinion it is one of the weaker vintages of Winston Churchill in the past decade. I’ll completely skip this vintage. (IG)
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9/8/2023 - KennHa Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fresh nose, fruits and dough of bread. Still closed though.
Acidic, full bodied concentrated palate - some ripe fruit. Not very developed.
Long finish.
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5/17/2023 - Joshvoulters Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lay & Wheeler Summer tasting: It's clearly good but I didn't enjoy it that much. It's quite highly-strung, vertical. When you go looking for it there is an inner ripeness: lemon pie, creme pat, but on the palate right now it's dry and austere. Nobody's opening this now anyway so it's academic - and I'm sure it'll be great in future.
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