Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man, Joseph Krug, to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Since 1843, the House of Krug has honoured this vision with each new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée: the most generous expression of Champagne.
Krug Grande Cuvée is re-created every year, beyond the notion of vintage and is a blend of over 120 individual wines from more than 10 different years. The fullness or flavours and aromas achieved by this careful art of blending would be impossible to express with the wines of a single year.
A talk with Julie Cavil
Krug Cellar Master
After two challenging years, the harvest of 2013 gave the House’s oldest plots the conditions they needed to shine. In this Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, you will find beautiful wines from our plots in Ambonnay and Ricey. The Chardonnays of the year were magnificently fresh and pure, with great intensity and length. The Pinot Noirs were powerful and long with discreet fruit, while the Meuniers added structure, tension and vivacity. To complete the blend, different plots’ wines were selected from throughout the first decade of the millennium, including Meuniers from Sainte-Gemme, which contributed warmth, opulence and texture, contrasting with the chiselled Meuniers of 2013.
Every year since the foundation of the House of Krug, a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée is created to offer the most generous expression of Champagne.
This bottle belongs to the 169ème Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years. The youngest is from the year 2013 and the oldest dates back to 2000. A stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this Édition its remarkable expression and elegance. Every glass poured from it is the fruit of more than 20 years of careful craftsmanship.
The 169ème Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée was composed around the harvest of 2013. The season began with a seemingly endless winter followed by a rainy and cool spring. Luckily, summer was hot and sunny, although also marked by hailstorms, which took their toll in the vineyards. The wines of the year were complete, expressive and full of flavours.
To create this Édition, the Cellar Master looked to accentuate the year’s fullness and beautiful aromatic elegance with different plots’ wines from 10 other years. The careful attention given to the vines and Krug’s unique respect for the individual character of each plot enabled the breadth of expression of this Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée.
In all, reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 40% of the final blend, bringing the breadth and roundness so essential to each Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée.
The final composition of this bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée is 43% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 22% Meunier.
RATINGS
« A real wake-up call! Sleek and fresh and truly spring-like with a light yeasty note on the very long finish. The most pleasure to be had initially is in the nose and the finish. The palate is still a bit of shock. This should have a long life. »
Jancis Robinson
RATING: 18,5+/20
TASTING NOTES
A light golden colour and fine, vivacious bubbles, holding a promise of pleasure.
Aromas of flowers in bloom, ripe, dried and citrus fruits, as well as marzipan and gingerbread.
Flavours of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche and honey.
FOOD PAIRING
Krug Grande Cuvée lends itself to a wealth of culinary combinations, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from an aged parmesan to turbot à la truffe. This Champagne can be enjoyed as an aperitif with Jabugo ham and mature comté or served to accompany oysters, grilled shrimps, Indian or Moroccan food, as well as desserts such as carrot cake, tarte tatin and cheesecake.
THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE
The House of Krug recommends that its Champagnes be served between 9°C and 12°C, as colder temperatures limit the expression of their flavours and aromas. Bottles should be stored at the same temperature they are served, i.e. between 9°C and 12°C, as colder temperatures slow down the Champagne’s evolution, while warmer temperatures can cause irreversible damage. In general, thermal shocks should be avoided during storage and bottles should not be exposed to light. They should also be handled with care, as the contents are under pressure. When the time comes to open your bottle of Krug, make sure it is pointed away from yourself and other people, tilt it and remove the wire cap and foil. Holding the cork firmly with one hand, and the bottle with the other, turn the cork to slowly and gently release it. N.B. : Contains sulphites
THE RIGHT GLASS
In 2011 the House of Krug partnered with renowned crystal maker, Riedel, to design a glass that would most generously reveal the fullness of flavours and aromas of Krug Grande Cuvée. The result is the Joseph glass, a tribute to Krug’s legendary founder. The crystal Joseph glass has been shaped to enable Krug Grande Cuvée to reach its optimal expression, resulting in a wonderful tasting.
THE INFLUENCE OF TIME
Krug offers only prestige Champagnes, the most important characteristic of which is that they will gain beautifully with the passage of time.
WINE DIAMONDS
The House of Krug’s unique craftsmanship is based on our understanding every plot through its individual wine. After several tastings by the tasting committee, a thorough assessment of each plot’s wine is achieved. In order to reveal the individual essence of every Krug Champagne, the most expressive wines are selected to play in each composition accordingly. No strong filtering or cold treatment is applied to any of our wines before bottling, thereby keeping a non-interventionist approach to the creation of every Krug Champagne, from vineyards to glass. As a result of this choice, while enjoying Krug, you may occasionally notice at the bottom of the last glass a few wine diamonds – harmless tartrate crystals which can form naturally while bottles are resting or being chilled. These are also known as quality crystals and we at the House of Krug felt it was important to share with you this further evidence of our commitment to preserving the most natural approach to the creation of all Krug Champagnes.
