It’s always champagne time at The Gourmet Gazette and in a preview to the end of year celebrations, and really why wait until then, we bring to you some exceptional champagnes. It has been another prestigious year for Krug, the champagne house founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug in Reims. When Joseph Krug founded his house he had a dream to bring out each year the Krug Grande Cuvée, a champagne that would go beyond being vintage, go beyond being great to drink.

This year the house’s 168th edition Krug Grande Cuvée is a blend of no less than 198 wines from 11 different years or cuvées carefully selected by the house’s cellar master Julie Cavil, offering a mosaic of aromas and savors that would be impossible to obtain from a single year. The champagne is a blend of predominately the Pinot Noir grape variety with 35% Chardonnay and 13% Pinot Meunier.

But this year’s star is the Krug Clos du Mesnil 2006, an ode to both a walled single parcel of vineyard, the Clos du Mesnil, and an exceptional year for champagne, 2006, regarded as a particularly hot and sunny one in Champagne country with capricious weather conditions alternating dry spells with intense rainy periods. The Clos du Mesnil vineyard is comprised of only Chardonnay grapes, making for a sublime Blanc de Blancs, and the weather conditions of 2006 combined with the microclimate of Clos du Mesnil offered up elegant and precise champagnes. The Krug Clos du Mesnil 2006 spent more than 12 years in the cellars of Krug imparting upon the champagne an additional uniqueness.

And for lovers of pink champagne, and there are many of you, enjoy Krug Rosé 24th edition. This champagne is made up of 22 wines spanning seven years with the youngest being from 2012 and the oldest from 2007. The house has also brought out an exceptional gift set with its exceptional Soloiste à l’Orchestre (Orchestra Soloist) gift box containing the Krug 2006 vintage, Krug Grande Cuvée 162nd edition and the Krug Rosé 24th edition.
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