The 1988 release displays supreme detail in its aromas of citrus peel, baked apple, honey and toasted walnut. The palate is still vibrant and focussed with notes of tropical and stone fruit, culminating in a deliciously long, candied fruit finish.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: Deep and lucid in colour, it retains that show-stopping, honeyed bouquet with breathtaking definition, offering hints of cut lime, cooking apple, cold granite, citrus lemon and a hint of walnut. The palate is taut, driven by vibrant acidity, hints of passion fruit and white peach, but at its heart is that sense of precision and poise.
- Wine Spectator: A superb Champagne and still youthful. Honey, ginger, lemon confit, coffee and mineral aromas and flavors come to mind, all kept focused by a firm, tightly wound structure. The finish is where its pedigree shines through, lingering like warm gingerbread and coffee.
Producer Information
Krug is one of Champagne’s most prestigious houses and its wines are among the most collectible and expensive in Champagne. The house was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug, a native of the Mosel region in Germany, who had moved to France and spent some time working for Jacquesson, the leading Champagne house of the time. Krug’s philosophy was that every Champagne should be the best possible expression, and eschewed the common idea of a hierarchy of Champagne. Instead, he began to craft a premium wine from a reserve of wines vinified separately by the growers themselves, a wine that would eventually become the Grande Cuvée. This wine sits alongside the likes of Dom Pérignon and Cristal at the top of the Champagne tree, and is a blend of 120 different wines from 10 or more vintages from the so-called Krug Library (a repository of still wines held prior to blending and refermenting in bottle). It is aged for six years, and is noted for its complex brioche and spice characters. Today, the wines are still vinified by individual plot, and are stored in the Krug Library. Every year, the chef de cave heads a tasting committee which decides on the final blend.
