2018 Pol Roger Vintage Brut, Champagne

I like the berry fruit aromas mingling with bread crust, grapefruit and lemon pastries. It's lively on the palate, with excellent structure and a bright wild-berry character. Clean and nicely focused. 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay. Disgorged 2024. Drink or hold.

94 points jamessuckling.com

The 2018 Brut Vintage, with a dosage of seven grams per liter, exhibits a delicate bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, pineapple, peach, sweet spices and pastry, followed by a full-bodied, rich and elegantly creamy mid-palate that segues into a fleshy core of fruit with a penetrating, long and saline finish. Admirers of Pol Roger’s style will love it.

93+ points YC robertparker.com

2018 Pol Roger Vintage Brut from Champagne is a beautifully composed wine that embodies the elegance, precision and quiet power that define the house style. Pol Roger, one of the last great family-owned Champagne houses, is celebrated for crafting wines that combine richness with freshness, and the 2018 vintage captures that balance with remarkable poise. It reflects a year of generosity and harmony, where ripe fruit and vibrant acidity came together under near-perfect growing conditions across the Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs.

The blend is composed of 60 percent Pinot Noir and 40 percent Chardonnay, all sourced from 20 Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. The Pinot Noir contributes structure and depth, while Chardonnay adds finesse, purity and longevity. After the first fermentation in stainless steel, the wine undergoes secondary fermentation in bottle and is aged for over six years on lees in Pol Roger’s deep chalk cellars — among the coolest in Champagne — enhancing texture, complexity and persistence.

In the glass it shimmers pale gold with a fine, persistent bead. The aroma is refined and layered, offering white peach, pear and lemon curd alongside notes of brioche, hazelnut, acacia honey and chalky mineral. The palate is seamless and vibrant, with flavours of citrus, baked apple and almond cream balanced by taut acidity and a delicate mousse. The finish is long and harmonious, revealing subtle spice and a hint of salinity that underscores its precision and age-worthiness.

It pairs beautifully with lobster, scallops, roast chicken, or rich seafood dishes such as sole meunière. It also shines with mushroom risotto or aged Comté. Elegant and refined on release, it will continue to evolve gracefully for 10 to 15 years, gaining toasty, honeyed depth while retaining its crystalline freshness.