Pol Roger's Rich ranks between sec and demi-sec, i.e. dry to semi-dry.
An extra dosage of wine and sugar has been added to achieve a sugar content of 35 g per litres. A regular brut contains a maximum of 15 g of sugar per litres.
This light sweetness is in a lovely balance with a natural fresh acidity, which makes it ideal for dessert and for the wreath cake on New Year's Eve.
Blending a Cuvée
The purpose of blending is to achieve a perfect, harmonious champagne that continuously maintains the same high level. 'Rich' is a blend of 30 different base wines from different vineyards and vintages. The grapes that make up Champagne are roughly equally distributed with the 3 famous grape varieties grown in Champagne:
33% Pinot Noir (Gives body and fullness, character and tannin/tannic acid) Mainly comes from the areas: Montagne de Reims: Verzy, Verzenay, Mailly, Ambonnay, Mardeuil and Louvois.
33% Pinot Meunier (Adds freshness, power and fruit character) Comes largely from Vallée d'Epernay: Vincelles, Venteuil, Troissy, Damery, Vandiéres, Brugny, Chavot, Monthelon and Pierry.
33% Chardonnay (Gives lightness, elegance and finesse) This grape comes mainly from the Côte des Blancs: Cuis, Oiry, Oger, Vertus, Moussy and Chouilly.
Pol Roger's Cuvée Rich has a beautiful golden color with fine bubbles. The scent is distinctive and elegant with notes of dried fruit, lightly perfumed and slightly spicy vanilla. The taste is soft and balanced, slightly spicy, good fruit and notes of caramel. The aftertaste is long, complex and very pleasant.
The grapes that are used for this come exclusively from the first pressing (known as "La cuvée") Second pressing of the grapes is known as "la taille" i.e. the tail. Grape juice from the 3rd pressing or more is not used.