When Winston Churchill, Britain's war time Prime Minister, checked into The Plaza Hotel in New York City in the 1930s, the manager rang his room to see if he required anything special. Churchill himself took the call and, pretending to be his valet, replied: "Mr. Churchill is a man of simple tastes; he is quite easily satisfied with the best of everything.
The best of everything also encompassed his taste for champagne, his favourite being the family-owned Pol Roger, which was first produced in 1849 and to this day remains one of the finest champagnes available.
Churchill first became a customer in 1908. His purchase of a case of the 1895 vintage cost a princely £4.
He later became friends with the beautiful Odette Pol-Roger when he attended a lunch at the recently reopened British Embassy in Paris in November 1944.
The then ambassador, Duff Cooper, who knew Churchill enjoyed the company of beautiful women at least as much as he enjoyed champagne, seated Odette next to him.
The attraction was immediate, and their enthusiastic if entirely innocent friendship lasted until Churchill's death in 1965. Churchill was such a fervent admirer of both Odette and her champagne that he named one of his race horses Pol Roger. She returned the compliment in 1984 by naming her house's new prestige champagne Cuvée Winston Churchill.
Was it Pol Roger that inspired the number one lit down in history when he was challenged by Lady Astor for appearing drunk in Parliament:
"I may be drunk, Madame, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly."
Continuing in the vein of royal patronage, Pol Roger Reserve Brut was served at William and Kate's Royal Wedding in 2011.
Wine Offer #6
Pol Roger Brut Reserve
¥6,000 per single bottle, ¥5,500 per bottle based for a 6 pack, ¥5,000 per bottle for a case of 12 - saving 1/3rd on normal retail.
Number of cases available: 20
Availability: delivery within one week
The reserve brut is composed from around 30 still base wines, drawn from different vineyard sites, grape varieties and vintage years. Riddling is still done by hand. The blend is typically 1/3 Pinot Noir, 1/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Pinot Meunier with the added reserve wines especially selected to achieve the requisite elegance, balance and harmony.
Pol Roger Brut NV has a truly wide appeal and is perfect for lovers of exuberantly-styled Champagnes. Feminine and fruity in its youth, it takes on a fuller flavour with age.
Simply reply to this mail stating how many bottles you want and our selection and we will contact you for payment and to arrange delivery. Free delivery to your door or collect from Parabola. Wines may also be drunk at Parabola for a JPY 1,000 corkage fee. Don't forget that the corkage fee also applies to any wines drunk at Parabola so do dig out your venerable bottles and bring them along to share with friends.
All wines we offer will be available for tasting at Parabola so you can buy in complete confidence.
No space to store your wine? Don't worry, 12 bottle cases come with three months free warehousing in our temperature controlled facilities in Shinagawa. Bottles can then be delivered from the warehouse for collection at wine bar Parabola.
