Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2004 Investment

History

Churchill's relationship with Pol Roger dates back to 1945 when, during a luncheon given by the British ambassador to France after the liberation of Paris, Churchill met the charming and captivating Odette Pol-Roger and began a friendship, indulged by his wife Clementine, which lasted until Sir Winston's death in 1965. Each year on his birthday, Odette would send him a case of vintage champagne. So close was his relationship with the family that, on Churchill's death, Pol Roger put black-bordered labels on the bottles destined for the UK. In 1975, Pol Roger went one step further and named their prestige cuvée after him, making it in the robust, mature style that he liked so much.

The exact composition of this cuvée is a family secret but it is likely that Pinot Noir dominates 70-80% of the blend with the rest being Chardonnay. The grapes are all from Grand Cru vineyards which were under vine during Churchill's lifetime.

The 2004 Vintage

Pol Roger is a truly unique Champagne house and its prestige cuvée, Sir Winston Churchill, is undoubtedly one of the finest wines in the world – with a high desirability that is by no small means compounded by its rarity and exclusivity. Pol Roger produce less than 25,000 cases across their entire vintage wine range, including their Blanc de Blancs, Rosé and Brut Vintage Champagnes. Whilst they do not release any official production level for the Sir Winston Churchill cuvée, it is believed to less than 4,000 cases.

As follows with any hugely desirable fine wine that is finitely produced, prices rise quickly, particularly in great vintages, as demand outweighs supply. This was seen in practice with the release of Sir Winston Churchill 2002 last summer – the initial first release price of £600 rose to £675 within a week due to popular demand – leaving those fortunate enough to purchase the initial allocation netting some decent short-term gain.

Whilst Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2004 has not yet been rated by any leading wine critic, The Finest Bubble were lucky enough to taste a bottle prior to release. With honeyed aromas and a rich, powerful palate of forward fruit, incredible length and refreshing acidity characteristic of the superb 2004 vintage, we were truly blown away by this Champagne. Further, when put to the test and tasted alongside the world-class Sir Winston Churchill 2002, the new 2004 vintage reassuringly stood its ground.

We were really impressed with this new release and should its even comparison to the 2002 vintage hold true, this Champagne is set to develop into something truly remarkable – and limited availability can only work in its favour.

Market Value

Although we do not have any official reviews or scores for Sir Winston Churchill 2004 yet, we can get a good idea of how this prestige cuvée performs in the market in general by taking a look at the past performance of an average-rated vintage.

The graph below shows the change in market value of Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1996, rated 18.5+/20 by Jancis Robinson MW. Released in the summer of 2006, it has tripled in value since then, rising from £700 to its current market price of £2,100; a whopping increase of 200%.

Furthermore, although we do not have a rating from Jancis Robinson MW yet and as such, direct comparisons to a previous vintage are ineffectual, the table below shows Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill’s vintage premium and offers an indication as to its value for money. The price-over-points ratio (a loose measure of value, calculated by dividing the price of a wine by its 20-point score) shows great value for money prospects for the previous three vintages – should the 2004 vintage score as highly as we are expecting, this wine could be one to buy sooner rather than later.

Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill POP scores by vintage
Vintage	Av. case price	JR Score	POP
1990	£1,908	18	106
1995	£650	17.5	37.1
1996	£1,002	18.5+	54.2
1998	£595	19	31.3
1999	£590	18	32.8
2002	£675	18	37.5
2004	£600	-	-

TFB In Bond Price: £1,384.00 per 6x75cl case

Data as at 9th September 2015

Wine Valuation & Selling

Customers who purchase from The Finest Bubble and cellar with us will have access to independent valuation data from Liv-ex for Champagne held in their reserves through an online personal account. When you come to sell your Champagne, The Finest Bubble may make an offer to buy depending on market conditions, however you are not tied to selling through us. If you need us to assist in selling the champagne we can do this for a 4% charge. There are no costs for providing this valuation information.

Financial Risk

We have presented information that shows the historical case for Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill as an investment and any forward looking statements are forecasts and not guarantees. Since the value of any investment can go down as well as up we recommend you consult with an accredited financial expert before making investment decisions.

Our Help

We are able to help you with our opinion on what champagnes and which vintages we believe offer the right qualities to consider cellaring for 5-10 years and help with up to the minute market data showing valuations, trends and transaction quantity for every champagne. We are not able to offer financial advice or advice on investments.

Contact Us

To discuss this further please contact Nick or Chris 020 7359 1608 or email us via the contact page.

Last Updated: 9th September 2015