Krug

There are many excellent Champagne and far more critical connoisseurs. But there are champagnes to which even the most critical connoisseurs tip their hats in unusual unison: Krug is a champagne of this type.

Some champagne lovers even go so far as to call themselves 'Krugist' or 'Krugistin' (Fr.: Krugiste; En.: Kruggist). Krug champagnes have become their quality benchmark against which all other champagnes must be measured, because for a 'Krugist' there can be no better champagne. That's it!

What's more, the 'Krugists' are often experienced wine connoisseurs who are not easily impressed by a wine brand. And even they go into raptures about champagne from Krug. Why? Because Krug champagne is indeed a very special champagne, and for good reason.

However, before we turn to the special production of Krug champagnes, let us first take a look at the interesting history of the house:

Johann-Josef Krug (1800-1866) originally came from Mainz in Germany. He later became French by naturalisation (Jean-Joseph Krug). In 1834, he joined Jacquesson & Fils, which was already famous at the time. In 1841, he married the Englishwoman Emma Anne Jaunay (1810-1879), the sister-in-law of Adolphe Jacquesson (who was married to his younger sister Louisa Jaunay).

A small note on the Jaunay family:
François Jaunay from Chantilly, closely associated with the French aristocracy in royal times, had fled to England during the French Revolution and subsequently established himself with great success in the hotel industry (Brunet's Hotel, Jaunay's Hotel in London's famous Leicester Square). There he married the Englishwoman Anne Howell. François Jaunay emigrated to Australia around 1839. However, his wife moved to Châlons-sur-Marne to live with their daughter Louisa Jacquesson.

Emma Anne Krug gave Jean-Joseph Krug a son, Paul Krug (1842-1910), in 1842.

18 months after his marriage, Jean-Joseph Krug left the House of Jacquesson and founded Krug et Cie. in Reims together with his friend Hyppolite de Vivès (a successful wine merchant in Reims). Initially, the house not only traded in Champagne, but also offered other wines from the Champagne region. In the spring of 1845, Jean-Joseph Krug prepared the first cuvées for the young house (which resulted in 40,842 bottles of champagne). The following year, he made targeted purchases of the highest quality grapes (mainly from the commune of Bouzy at the time).

After Jean-Joseph's death, the company was divided between his widow Krug (25%), Hyppolite de Vivès (25%) and his son Paul Krug (50%). Shortly afterwards, de Vives retired and Paul Krug took over the management of Krug. His hard work and great talent for producing the highest quality champagnes resulted in outstanding success for the Krug house. Enormous sales figures were achieved, particularly in England. In his second year as head of the company, he skilfully blended the best wines to create 207,048 bottles of champagne under the Krug name and a further 206,264 bottles of champagne for other houses.

He later married Caroline Harlé (1846-1915). This marriage produced ten children, which seemed to secure the future of the family business. However, the well-known author and historian John Stevenson notes that none of the children were apparently interested in a future in the family business. The eldest son Joseph Krug (1868-1967), for example, was drawn to the sea. However, his father later managed to persuade Joseph Krug to join the company. After the death of his father, he took over the traditional family business in 1910.

Immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, Joseph Krug joined the French military, was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and was taken prisoner by the Germans. In the meantime, his remarkable wife Jeanne Krug (née Jeanne Hollier-Larousse; 1880-1954) ran the company and produced the legendary 'Krug 1915'. When Joseph Krug returned from captivity as a prisoner of war in 1918, he was in poor health. The doctors only gave him a few more years and advised him not to take on the strenuous and demanding task of managing his company.

His son Paul Krug II (1912- ) was still a young boy at the time. Krug therefore enlisted the help of his talented nephew Jean Seydoux. Joseph Krug unexpectedly recovered from his severe war illnesses during this time and was actively involved in the company until the age of 90.

The following years were characterised by spectacular Krug champagnes. The well-known wine professional Ed McCarthy notes that the Krug 1928, which he was recently served as an aperitif at a Burgundy tasting, was the best champagne he had ever tasted. According to McCarthy, the outstanding quality of the Krug had already overshadowed the actual Burgundy tasting beforehand.

In 1935, Paul Krug joined his father Josef and his cousin Jean Seydoux and worked at Krug. In 1941 he was appointed manager and in 1958 he took over as director of Krug. Jean Seydoux died in 1962, having made an outstanding name for himself in the production of the finest champagnes. His father Joseph Krug died five years later at an advanced age.

At the time, the Krug house had long been recognised as masters in the production of excellent cuvées, the vines of which traditionally came from the best sites (98% - 100% rating) of other winegrowers. Between 1970 and 1972, Paul Krug decided to purchase first-class vineyards in strategic locations in Champagne in order to give his Champagne production a certain independence by growing his own high-quality vines.

The Rémi-Cointreau group subsequently came into play as a partner in Krug and provided the financial strength to purchase around 15 hectares of vineyards. Today, Krug has nine hectares of its own vineyards around Aÿ planted with Pinot Noir, an important grape variety for Champagne. The supply of the elegant Chardonnay grape is secured with around 6 hectares in the Le Mesnil sur Oger area, of which around 1.85 hectares are in the legendary Clos-de-Mesnil. These are exclusively Grand Cru sites (100% rating).
The company's own vineyards now cover around 201TP57 tonnes of the grapes needed to produce its famous Grande Cuvée Champagnes. The wines from these vineyards form the foundation of the blends (or 'crus de base'), so to speak, on which fantastic champagnes are built with skilful blends of up to 50 - 60 other base wines.

Paul Krug retired in 1977. His eldest son, Henri Krug (1937- ), was appointed general manager of the house and from then on was responsible for the preparation of the champagnes. His brother Rémi Krug (1942- ) is the manager of the house and has been a popular ambassador for the house on the international stage for many years. His daughter Caroline Krug, now the sixth generation, has also been involved in marketing for many years. Olivier Krug, son of Henri Krug, is also a capable employee of the company.

After decades of service to the Krug house, the brothers Rémi and Henri Krug are already considered 'living legends' in the champagne world, not only for their uncompromising respect for traditional values in the production of their Krug champagnes, but also in terms of preserving the culture of champagne in general.

Although the house was acquired by the famous luxury group LVMH in 1999, the independence of the Krug family in the production of champagne remains intact.
Henri Krug sees the integration into the financially strong LVMH Group as an advantage and commented: "Now I can invest more in the wine cellar and in new barrels. I can continue to make the same wine, but now I can be even more selective in my production!" An example of this 'selectivity' is that Krug rejects 20 - 70% of the grapes offered to them from the best sites as insufficient for the desired Krug quality and instead leaves them to other houses for the production of champagnes.

Let us now turn to the Krug champagnes themselves: what makes them different from the majority of other champagnes?

Krug lives by the old motto 'Good things take time'. This starts with the grape harvest: Every single berry should be perfect! Berries with flaws are carefully picked out so as not to damage the perfect berries.

With almost 'religious fervour', attention is paid to the highest quality of the vines even before the champagne is produced. Their own vineyard in the Clos de Mesnil is an example of this unparalleled quality assurance: Rémi Krug notes that the harvest of this relatively small vineyard could be completed in a single working day. However, it happens that some vines are at their best on Monday, while others should be harvested on Wednesday or Thursday. Krug also expects this attitude of uncompromising quality from its grape suppliers. Only the best quality grapes are accepted. In addition, only the must from the first pressing is utilised (see also Taille).

Krug only uses small oak barrels for the (first) fermentation. A 205 litre oak barrel of this type is known as a pièce. Moreover, these Argonne oak barrels are sometimes 30 years old. There are more than 3,300 of these tried and tested barrels in use at Krug. New oak barrels evoke flavour nuances such as vanilla or coffee and provide natural tannins, which are actually sought after by other winegrowers. However, Krug prefers older barrels, as ageing in old barrels produces a special smoothness.
The 'wood flavour' imparted by new barrels is not desired - instead, a hint of toast flavour and subtle caramel-like, nutty nuances are sought.

The wine should develop unadulterated, round and rich in its natural environment. Around 10 % of the old barrels are discarded each year and replaced with new barrels. However, new barrels must first 'mature' at Krug before they are used: First, they are 'soaked' in a hot water solution. They are then used for up to three years solely for the storage of residual wines, which are of course not intended for Krug champagne, but are sold on elsewhere (e.g. for the production of brandy). Only then are the barrels suitable for fermenting the high-quality Krug wines.

The effort associated with the barrels is enormous and very costly. The barrels are stacked like pyramids and sorted by vineyard and grape variety. The barrels have to be transported by hand to the stacking area after the first bottling. The subsequent decanting of a barrel into another barrel entails the proper cleaning and care of the emptied barrel.
The small oak barrels allow a natural, barely perceptible exchange of oxygen through the pores of the wood during fermentation. This leads to a slight oxidisation of the wines and apparently contributes to the widely known exceptionally good ageing potential and longevity of Krug champagnes. In addition, malolactic fermentation is not encouraged, but at best occurs naturally or more or less by itself during the long storage of Krug champagnes. The wines do not go through any filtration systems either, but clarify themselves in the barrels during the long storage period. Later, the wines are transferred by gravity from a higher barrel to another barrel. The sediment remains in the emptied barrel.

Krug has always been known as a true master of assemblage, the skilful blending of up to 60 different wines from 20 to 25 different vineyards. Six to ten different vintages can come into play to immortalise the world-famous, sophisticated flavours of the House of Krug in another Grande Cuvée Champagne. The formula of the 'Krug style' is not written down anywhere on paper, but is passed on through a great deal of practical experience and constant co-operation between one generation and the next. Despite the different roles of the family members in the day-to-day running of the company, they work together on the blending of the cuvées.

At the end of the production process, Krug champagnes are stored in the bottles for an exceptionally long time. The Grande Cuvée Champagne, for example, the 'flagship' of the Krug house, benefits from at least six years 'on the lees'. The typical ageing period for Krug vintage champagnes is between seven and 15 years.

After all this effort and attention to detail, the end result is a champagne that is almost always one of the best in the world. They have always regularly scored over 90 points at professional tastings. Krug champagnes also defy many of the usual rules that apply to most other champagnes:

* While many champagnes (especially those without a vintage) are not suitable for additional, long-term storage, Krug champagnes are often ideal for long-term storage - so suitable, in fact, that they clearly have speculative value, similar to some great Burgundies, for example.

* Whilst a champagne should usually reach an appropriate chilling temperature before serving (8° - 11°C), Krug champagnes often develop better at a few degrees higher.

* Whilst Champagne is generally regarded as the best aperitif of all, Krug Champagnes make fantastic accompaniments to almost any meal. With rich and varied flavours, they don't even have to hide from the 'power' of many of the 'heavy reds prescribed for certain dishes'. Instead, they captivate with their own strength and the bonus of finesse and lightness of a true champagne. Add to this the visual pleasure of the particularly fine bubbles of a golden Krug champagne and you can quickly become a convinced 'Krugist'.

Krug offers various champagnes:

As already mentioned, the Grande Cuvée Champagne is the flagship of the Krug house. It embodies the basic flavour. It also represents 65% - 80% of the House's production. To obtain it, 50 to 60 wines from up to 25 vineyards and six to ten vintages are blended. It is therefore understandable that Krug is reluctant to use the usual terms such as 'non-vintage' and would rather see the Grande Cuvée Champagne as a 'multi-vintage', and rightly so. The grape varieties represented are Pinot Noir (approx. 45 - 55%), Pinot Meunier (10 - 15%) and Cardonnay (30 - 45%). Many wine professionals recommend that this 'multi-vintage champagne' be stored properly for at least one to two years after delivery (some connoisseurs even recommend up to ten years).

The proportions of grape varieties in Krug vintage champagnes (or Krug Vintage Brut, Krug Milléssimé) vary. The typical ageing period is seven to 15 years. Incidentally, for the first time in the history of Krug, three vintages are being released in succession (but not in annual order): the 1989, then the 1988 and finally the 1990. Krug traditionally only declares outstanding vintages as vintage champagnes with its name. This is therefore very special.
Vintages such as 1982, 1979, 1976, 1975, 1973, 1969 and 1964 are considered first-class today and are highly sought-after. Even the 1961, the last vintage produced by Paul Krug himself, is still regarded today as an outstanding champagne and a great treasure (a Krug 1961 realised US$ 1,497 at the famous Sotheby's auction house in London a few years ago).

The Krug-Rosé, first introduced in 1983 by Henri Krug, is another multi-vintage champagne. It is very fruity, full-bodied and at the same time very dry. It is regarded as a serious, complex champagne, which is the result of an extremely sophisticated blend of many vineyards and up to six vintages. It consists of around 50 - 55% Pinot Noir, around 20% Pinot Meunier and 25 - 30% Chardonnay with the addition of a still, red Pinot Noir wine from the area around Aÿ. The colour is not typically 'pink' like many other rosé champagnes, but much lighter. This is not a champagne for novices, it is rather reserved for connoisseurs who pair it specifically with coordinated culinary specialities, whereby this harmonisation creates a new totality of pleasure.

However, Krug has another jewel up its sleeve: the famous Krug Clos du Mesnil! This is a special Blanc de Blancs made exclusively from the vines of a small, enclosed vineyard ('clos') in the wine village of Le Mesnil sur Oger. The wall around the vineyard (or rather 'vineyard') was built in 1698, according to a plaque affixed there. Owned by the Benedictine monastery of Le Mesnil until 1750, the vineyard is still referred to as 'Clos Tarin' by the locals of this largest wine village in the Cote de Blancs region. In 1971, the house Krug bought this precious vineyard. The purchase is considered a strategically skilful expansion of the Krug house, as Krug had already been buying vines for its champagnes there for over a century. At the same time, Krug renovated the house and its cellars.

With the 1979 vintage, Henri Krug dared to produce a Krug Clos du Mesnil for the first time. This champagne proved to be outstanding and scored 98!
Further vintages have been produced in the meantime: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1990. 1982, 1985, 1988 (99 points!) and 1990 stand out in particular from these outstanding vintages.

The Krug Clos du Mesnil exhibit enormous acidity in their youth and require long ageing (typically twelve to 15 years) in the cellars of the house. After that, they present themselves to the connoisseur as a dreamlike champagne. Their large mosaic of seductive flavours offers the connoisseur a rich spectrum ranging from fresh bread and nuts to citrus fruits. A Krug Clos du Mesnil is made even better by long ageing in its own cellar. These champagnes are a real rarity: as only around 10,000 bottles are produced, they are a coveted collector's item among wine connoisseurs. Only around 2,200 bottles reach the US market, where they are then traded for 300 - 500 US$.

Finally, it is worth noting the Krug Collection. These champagnes differ only slightly from the Krug vintage champagnes. They have benefited from many additional years of ageing on the lees, deep in the cellars of the house. Krug only brings these collection champagnes onto the market sporadically, usually in beautiful wooden boxes. The 1973 Collection and the 1976 Collection, for example, are currently on sale. As the name suggests, these are exquisite collector's items, although they are of course also excellent champagnes to savour. However, the price of the Collection champagnes is rather off-putting for mere mortals (300 - 400 US$ for a standard bottle is not unusual in the USA).

There are many champagne fans who have never tasted a Krug champagne. This is also because the Krug Grand Cuvée is considerably more expensive than other non-vintage champagnes (it costs around US$ 100 on the US market). However, every champagne lover should choose a Krug champagne at least once as a stylish, exquisite accompaniment to a festive meal.

 

 

 

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