Krug
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With history dating back to 1843, Krug has surpassed every one of its cohorts from the era where negociants and the "Grande Marques" ruled the day. In today's world of the growers whose grapes had made the backbone of the most famous Champagnes now bottling their own, Krug has managed to create cuvees of individuality while maintaining a flagship - the Grande Cuvee - wine that is immediately recognizable, singular and superb.
After his early days at Jacquesson, the ever-enterprising Joseph Krug took his curiosity into his own project with the aim to craft the most complex wines even during poor vintage conditions. What eventually came from this exemplary vision was a large library of reserve wines, which helped to heighten complexity in some cases, and provide balance and consistency in others. Only the best grapes were preserved annually, and if there was quality and quantity enough to produce a vintage wine, that was done; still, some of the finest grapes were preserved to hold in case of a future poor vintage. This became a hallmark of the house, that still today can boast what may be the most impressive collection of wines from their numerous holdings from multiple vintages.
Born from this philosophy was the Grande Cuvee; though it went by other names early on (such as "Prestige Cuvee"), the idea remained: to release a consistently excellent cuvee with a house style. This style is one that has remained as memorable and desirable, while keeping with the trends. Truthfully, Krug has always harvested at peak ripeness while still finding the balance of acidity as it aids greatly the ability for the wine to age. They will talk about percentages of each varietal in their wines, but in truth it is more of an art than a mathematic equation, to create the Grande Cuvee.
In 1973, the opportunity was presented to Krug to purchase the Clos du Mesnil, which was an extraordinary parcel of Chardonnay that now creates one of the finest single-vintage Champagnes. This was first released by Krug in 1979. 1976 brought the Krug Rose, and in 1995 the Clos du Ambonnay joined the line-up of stunning wines, alongside the Brut Vintage cuvee which is released only in vintages that Krug feels are possessing of a unique character. Case in point would be the 2003 and 2011 vintage releases - each of these vintages in Champagne were scorned by one critic or another, and often deservedly so. Yet the 2011 Krug has drawn rave reviews for its balance, even in some cases exceeding the praise of the 2008s.
In summation, Krug represents Champagne in some ways in the way of a Recoltant-Manipulant (grower) in their exactitude and willingness to experiment. They of course have a "house style" in the form of the Grande Cuvee, but the individualistic nature in their single-vintage cuvees that few, if any Grande Marque can lay claim to.
