Rich Demi Sec Non-Vintage (NV)

"Fine and creamy, with a lively acidic frame for the flavors of peach tart, pastry cream and candied ginger. A smoky-sweet hint of praline plays on the finish. Drink now."

"Demi-Sec is a fine style both as an apéritif and with fruit desserts. Its sweetness—softness, perhaps—is balanced by a crisp taste of lemon and acidity. This delicious, rich Champagne is ready to drink."

"This soft wine has a high dosage (semisweet or demi-sec) that gives a light touch of sweetness to fruit and acidity. Its freshness is fine foil for the sweeter character of a Champagne that can just about go with dessert but is really better as an aperitif."

"Creamy and lightly sweet, this finds balance from the citrusy acidity. Flavors of toasted brioche and nut play off the glazed apricot, pineapple and spun honey notes. Drink now. 150 cases imported."

"Offering up aromas of yellow orchard fruit, honeycomb, warm brioche and fresh pastry, the latest release of Pol Roger's NV Demi Sec Rich is full-bodied, textural and enveloping, with lively acids, good concentration and plenty of incipient complexity. To my palate, the real interest will come after five or six years in the cellar, but this is a very well-made example of its genre."

Produced from the three main Champagne grapes and with a higher dosage than for Brut, this is an off-dry Champagne. The fruit is all there, along with touches of maturity, balancing ripe apricot and orange flavors against toastiness. Drink this wine now.

"Light, bright yellow. Ripe pear and nectarine on the fragrant nose, with hints of lemon curd, honey and dried fig adding complexity. Shows very good depth and a supple texture, with sweet poached pear and pit fruit nectar flavors sharpened by a minerally element. Closes silky, broad and gently sweet, with a suave floral quality coming up late. This would make a fantastic pairing with blue cheeses."

"Two qualities give it wide rangecarbonation from the bubbles and great acidity to cut through fat but still pair up with leaner flavors. While drier champagne brut is most popular in the U.S., champagne demi-sec has just a touch of sweetness that makes it work better with spicy foods, many cheeses, and light desserts. Now you know."

"Two qualities give it wide rangecarbonation from the bubbles and great acidity to cut through fat but still pair up with leaner flavors. While drier champagne brut is most popular in the U.S., champagne demi-sec has just a touch of sweetness that makes it work better with spicy foods, many cheeses, and light desserts. Now you know.

An ideal Thanksgiving pairing: Turkey with oyster stuffing, a cheese plate heavy with crumbly chvres and blues, and fruit tarts with flaky, buttery crusts."

"Light gold. Candied citrus fruits and poached pear on the nose and palate. Plump, smooth and expansive, with very good finishing cling and subtle spiciness. Energetic for a sweet Champagne, having the requisite liveliness to work with lighter desserts or mild, young cheeses. "

"A completely convincing sweet Champagne, balancing the natural acidity of the region with the higher dosage. The wine is fruity, with peach and lemon juice combining easily. A wine for fish, shellfish or just by itself."

"Mouth-filling, frothy, elegant, fine balance, with rich creamy finish."

Champagne Pol Roger Rich recalls those not-so-distant days and adds an extra dose of sugar, which results in a wine between sec and demi-sec styles. With a typical blend of 34% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Meunier, and 33% Pinot Noir, this family-owned sparkling wine from Epernay produces an array of bone-crushingly dry Pol Roger Pure Brut to its ultra-luxurious (and ultra-expensive) Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.

When enjoying spicier foods like Thai or Indian, many people reach for a sweet Riesling or floral Gewurztraminer first. But when dried fruits and spicy vanilla aromas combine with that extra dose of sugar, this wine will change minds! The subtle complexity can tame spicy dishes as well as pair beautifully with dessert. Hell, this wine could BE dessert! In fact, 19th century British wine merchant S.D. Churchill (I cannot confirm if he was related to the more famous Winston) described the ideal Champagne and food pairing when he said:

“This demi-sec balances its sweetness well with a racy acidity that supports creamy flavors of honey-coated apples.”

“Pale gold hue with small bubbles. Expressive nose of apple and red fruit elements. There is a pleasing, demi-sec richness in the mouth, yet it remains lively and vibrant. Appropriately named “Rich”, the dosage enhances the aromatic expressiveness without detracting from a long, pleasing citrus- and apple laced finish.”

“Smooth, creamy and sweet with bright peachy fruit and tangy acidity; lively, fresh and lovely”

“A beautifully balanced wine, the ripe, lightly sweet fruit blending well with fresh strawberry acidity, intense pear and an aftertaste that leaves an elegant weight in the mouth.”

“A developed (but not advanced) and discreetly yeasty nose that displays some mature elements merges into rich, full, round and delicious flavors that are carrying more obvious sweetness than other wines in the range. This is easy to like and has enough acidity to balance the sweetness. Those who like a Champagne that isn’t bone dry, this would be a good alternative as it is impressively complex.”

“Champagne: Pol Roger Rich NV.”

“Aromas of pear, peach, apricot, and citrus, with floral and light toast notes. Medium bodied with clean, focused fruit and excellent balance; clean, crisp, fruity finish. Very good sec/demi-sec style. Asian cuisine, toasting.”

“A slightly richer, almost fatter, style of demi-sec. Very well done in its way with lovely rich, fat, floral flavors. Lacking perhaps the purity of fruit, but making up for it with additional richness and density on the palate.”