The Statesman's Favorite: Strong Potential in Pol Roger

The Pol Roger Champagne House And The Statesman Winston Churchill

Champagne is full of impressive stories and historical anecdotes, but few are as powerful as the one about the relationship between the Champagne house Pol Roger, and the man who could very well be one of the greatest European statesmen in history, Sir Winston Churchill.

Through five generations and more than 160 years of history, the Pol Roger family has earned its place among the most renowned Champagne houses in the world.

The stories of wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill are unquestionably many and colorful, but the man had taste, no question about that.

And a taste for Champagne was exactly what he had - a taste that lasted through the war period, even though hard economic times in the 1930s had forced him to drink "only one bottle of Champagne per day". And it was a taste for the sparkling drops that led Sir Winston Churchill, at a celebration of the reopening of the British Embassy in Paris in 1944, was seated with Odette Pol Roger - wife of Champagne producer Pol Roger.

This meeting was the start of a strong bond between the two families. The Pol Roger was undoubtedly Churchill's favorite house, and the affection was indeed mutual, as demonstrated when Pol Roger paid for major parts of the replanting of fallen trees after the Great Storm of 1987 at Churchill's country home.

But the strongest indication of the family bond came three years earlier, in 1984, when Pol Roger released the house's prestige cuvée, their absolute top wine, for the first time under the name Sir Winston Churchill - a tribute to the statesman with the finest quality of the house, in limited production - and of course only in the best vintages that live up to Churchill's format.

What Is The Potential Of Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill?

The potential of Sir Winston Churchill is assested as great, considering what mature and great vintages of this wine cost today. A quick look at wine-searcher.com reveals that the cheapest 1996 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill* today costs approx. €430 per bottle^*. And while this is 187% more than what the 2012 vintage costs today, the really interesting thing is what the 1996 vintage was trading for after release. Historical trade data^** shows that 1996 Sir Winston Churchill was trading at around €90 per bottle in 2006. From this perspective, the price has thereby increased 377% since then, or 12% on average per year.

The development of Champagne also creates favorable conditions for the Champagne investor. Over the last 15 years, the cost of farming land in the Champagne region, as well as the cost of converting to sustainable production, has increased disproportionately more than the price of a bottle of Champagne, resulting in an unfavorable relationship between production costs and selling prices. As a result, several experts and producers predict that prices will rise more in the next 10 years than what we have been used to in the past.

*excluding customs, VAT and tax, in whole cases and perfect condition

**Live-ex

Also read our status on the Champagne market here: Good Investment: Champagne Delivers Solid Returns In Uncertain Markets

Buy Young Champagne Cheap, Sell Mature Champagne Expensive

This is how simple wine and Champagne investment can be explained, and Pol Roger's Winston Churchill is an excellent example of this.

By Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, which is under the management of RareWine Invest, the 2008 and 2004 vintages have not started to move yet. The two vintages are the two previous releases to the 2012 vintage. Despite this, they have still delivered an annual return of 2-4% since 2017. The 2002 vintage, on the other hand, seems to have moved a step further in its life cycle and has seen a 70% price increase over the same period, which equates to 14% in average annual returns. This may be due to the fact that market availability of this vintage has become severely limited.

RareWine Invest’s Opinion

There are both better rated and more expensive Champagnes than Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill, but the link to the former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and an excellent quality has made this particular prestige cuvée a true icon among Champagne lovers - and even at a price where many both can and will join.

We generally recommend investing in Pol Roger Winston Churchill, and the 2012 vintage is a particularly exciting opportunity right now. With strong ratings, this vintage is one of the best, if not the best Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill to date. At the same time, according to wine-searcher.com, you now have the opportunity to invest at the world's lowest price, creating the best possible starting point for your investment.

The historic price increases of Sir Winston Churchill also validate the case and expectations for general price increases in Champagne plus the fact that a growing Asian demand for the sparkling drops makes the time for investment ideal.