The Krug Grande Cuvée  really is the Queen of Champagnes.

As a champagne blogger, something I am asked all the time is…

“So what’s your favourite champagne?”

My answer invariably always includes Krug.

I still remember the first time I tried Krug…. February 25, 2009 (Seriously. I kept the tasting notes. Yes, I am a champagne tragic!). 

Technically speaking, Krug Grande Cuvée is a prestige cuvée and a multi-vintage champagne rather than a non-vintage. The house says the fullness of the Krug flavour simply can’t be expressed in a single year… it is a remarkable blend of around 120 wines, from the three grape varieties, from ten or more different vintages with a high percentage of reserve wines which you can detect instantly (between 30 and 50%).

Unlike most champagnes, there is no real formula for Krug. The winemakers blend each year to make the best wine they can, not to produce a consistent style or taste. 

The Édition number corresponds to the number of times releases of the Grande Cuvée since 1843. Each bottle has a QR code of the Krug ID on the back label which you can scan to read the full story of Édition.

I love watching people the first time they try Krug… I’ve introduced maybe a dozen friends and each and every reaction has been unique and dramatic but all very, very happy! 

I always ask champs-fans to write down what they feel the first time they taste Krug… I want to publish a book of champagne reactions! This wine is not about what you taste, but what you feel and how you react to trying it.

Krug Tasting Notes (166th edition)

Bubble & Flute Review 

In a few words... Indescribably good. Champagne orgasm.

In a few sentences… Tasting Krug for the first time was I had a very visceral response. Like love at first sight.. or in this case, first sip. The Krug Grande Cuvée is the wine equivalent of a grand opera with a full symphony orchestra. It is rich and spicy and nutty, full of ripe fruit and hazelnuts but you can taste some tangy citrus and gingerbread, the strong presence of honey and brioche hint at its remarkable age.

Moment or mood… any time you are in the mood for a grand opera. Opening night, red carpet and ready for drama and music and singing that is so good you will never forget it. 

Where to buy it… The Champagne Gallery stocks Krug for $345 a bottle.  

*Bubble & Flute Champagne Style – Bold & Adventurous 

Wine Expert Reviews 

Tyson Stelzer – Grande Cuvée smells and tastes like no other wine, a monumental paradox of tense freshness, profound maturity and inimitable complexity. Its current 166ème Édition bears a full straw hue, embracing the full, marvellous expanse of the universe of Krug complexity. It opens with a fanfare into a maelstrom of molten wax, incense, truffles, pipe smoke, glacé apricot, preserved lemon, crème brûlée, even notes of mocha and charcuterie. Decadently rich, extravagantly complex and thunderingly expansive, Grande Cuvée is a vinous champagne of multifaceted personality, yet ever-heightened tension. Its structure is more dynamic and defined than ever, uniting the electric tension of no small retention of malic acidity with deep wells of scintillating, swirling, salty minerality, lacing everything together with the creamy, silky seamlessness of barrel fermentation and long lees age. It soars with spiralling expansion, then touches down gracefully, with unerring focus and breathtaking persistence. Every bit as enchanting and ethereal as its legendary reputation promises, this is a champagne to drink slowly from large glasses, to witness an entire universe of captivating theatrics unfold as it warms. Édition 166ème is a grand achievement as always, and more than ever in the challenging 2010 season, described by Eric Lebel as ‘tumultuous’. Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs consequently lacked its habitual freshness, and he responded with both the vivacity of the year’s meunier, and the structure of relatively young reserve wines, most notably from 2000. Oger was included for its generous roundness, and 2006 wines from Verzy and Bouzy for harmony. 97 Points 

Tasting notes from Krug

Eye…A light golden colour and fine, vivacious bubbles, holding a promise of pleasure.

Nose… Aromas of flowers in bloom, ripe, dried and citrus fruits, as well as marzipan and gingerbread.

Palate…Flavours of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche and honey.

Food pairings… lends itself to a wealth of culinary combinations, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from an aged parmesan to turbot à la truffe. It 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 Technical Details

The Blend

45% Pinot Noir

39% Chardonnay

16% Meunier

Blended from 140 wines from 13 different years from 1998 – 2010)  

Aged – for 7 years on lees

Reserve wines – 42% reserve wines

Annual Production – approx. 600,000 bottles 

For this champs more than any other please let me know what you think! Make sure you post a pic and tag @bubbleandflute #happychamper #firsttimeitriedkrug