Grande Cuv E Champagne

Features

Description

Most Champagne houses make a non-vintage Champagne to achieve consistency. Krug Grande Cuv*e exists because Joseph Krug thought that wasn't ambitious enough. Founded in Reims in 1843, Maison Krug was built around Joseph Krug's vision of creating the best Champagne he could offer every year, regardless of the variations of a single vintage.

Krug Grande Cuv*e remains the ultimate expression of that philosophy. Rather than relying predominantly on one harvest, each new *dition of Krug Grande Cuv*e is assembled from at least 120 individual wines spanning more than 10 different years, drawing extensively on the Maison's extraordinary library of reserve wines.

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier all play their part, with the precise composition changing from one *dition to the next. Once the final blend has been assembled, patience takes over. Each *dition rests for at least seven years in Krug's cellars before release, allowing the enormous collection of individual wines to integrate and develop the depth, texture and complexity for which Grande Cuv*e is famous.

Krug says that, when the reserve wines and maturation are considered, creating a new *dition takes more than 20 years. The result is wonderfully layered: citrus and ripe orchard fruit meet dried fruit, flowers and candied peel before moving into the unmistakably Krug territory of hazelnut, brioche, marzipan, gingerbread, nougat and honey.

It's rich without becoming heavy, mature without losing freshness and complex enough to change continually in the glass. Calling it "non-vintage Champagne" is technically understandable. It also feels a bit like calling a Rolls-Royce "transport". Tasting Notes Appearance: Light golden yellow with exceptional clarity and a fine, lively stream of persistent bubbles.

Nose: Intensely layered and expressive. White flowers, ripe orchard fruit and citrus are joined by dried fruit, candied peel, marzipan and gingerbread. With time in the glass, deeper notes of toasted nuts, brioche and honey begin to emerge. Palate: Rich, broad and beautifully energetic. Hazelnut, almond and nougat sit alongside citrus, ripe fruit and subtle candied notes.

Brioche and honey add richness, while vibrant acidity and an exceptionally fine mousse maintain freshness and precision. Finish: Long, complex and persistent, with toasted nuts, citrus, pastry, honey and gentle spice lingering well after the wine has left the palate. Technical Details Producer: Maison KrugOrigin: Reims, Champagne, FranceAppellation: Champagne AOCCuv*e: Krug Grande Cuv*eStyle: Multi-Vintage Prestige ChampagneGrape Varieties: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay & MeunierBlend: Typically 120+ Individual WinesVintages: More Than 10 Different YearsCellar Maturation: Minimum 7 YearsABV: 12.5%Bottle Size: 750mlPresentation: Gift Box Each Krug Grande Cuv*e is released as a numbered *dition.

The exact blend, number of wines, reserve-wine proportion and vintages therefore depend on the specific bottle. Food Pairing Krug Grande Cuv*e is a genuinely gastronomic Champagne. The Maison suggests everything from oysters and grilled prawns to Jabugo ham, mature Comt* and even Indian or Moroccan cuisine.

Richer dishes such as turbot with truffle are equally at home alongside it. It's also worth serving slightly warmer than you might serve an ordinary bottle of bubbles. Krug recommends 912C, allowing the Champagne's enormous aromatic complexity to show itself properly. Why It's Worth a Look The fascinating thing about Grande Cuv*e is that Krug could simply make an excellent vintage Champagne in good years.

Instead, they deliberately make life considerably more difficult for themselves. Every year, individual wines from different vineyard plots are evaluated separately before being combined with reserve wines stretching back across numerous vintages. Each *dition therefore becomes a huge blending exercise designed to achieve something that a single harvest simply couldn't provide.

And that's the point. Krug Grande Cuv*e isn't trying to express one particular year. It's attempting to create the fullest possible expression of