Pol Roger

Champagne house founded in Épernay in 1849 and still in family hands. The founder’s sons changed their surnames to Pol-Roger by deed poll, Pol being a champenois variant of Paul. The wines rank high among the top champagne houses for quality, although it is one of the smaller grandes marques. Pol Roger owns 91 ha/224 acres of vineyards on prime sites in the Vallée d’Épernay and on the Côte des Blancs and latterly on the Montagne de Reims. Particularly deep cellars house nine million bottles, representing five years’ supply. Sir Winston Churchill was a devotee of the house, even naming his racehorse Pol Roger. The compliment was repaid after his death, when all non-vintage labels exported to Britain were edged in black for 37 years. The Sir Winston Churchill Cuvée was launched in 1984 as Pol Roger’s prestige cuvée. The great-grandsons of the original Pol Roger, Christian Pol-Roger and Christian de Billy were succeeded by the son of the latter, Hubert de Billy.