Champagne Krug has unveiled the 170th Edition of Krug and the 26th Edition of Krug Rosé.
“It is the new baby of the house, the 170th Edition of Krug, created around the harvest of 2014,” said Krug’s cellar master Julie Cavil. This 170th Edition is composed of 195 different base wines from 12 different vintages, the oldest being 1998. It is a blend of 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 11% Pinot Meunier. 55% of the base wines for this edition were from 2014, 45% were reserve wines. The dosage lies between 5-6g/l.
“It was an edition that marks you and made us remember that it really is nature that decides,” said Cavil of the 170th release. “We faced alternating periods of dry and hot, rainy and fresh, but in fact all the critical stages of the development in the vineyard happened in optimal conditions. We had a marvelous flowering.”
Speaking on the challenges of the edition, Cavil pointed towards “a lack of structure.” Explaining that led the house to lean “largely on the 2013 vintage to bring back that structure. 2013 was a cool and late harvest of wines with great intensity, structure and freshness.”
Krug Director Olivier Krug said that the Champagne has “aromas of flowers in bloom, ripe, dried and citrus fruits, as well as marzipan and gingerbread,” and a palate that “reveals flavors of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche, and honey.”
This 26th Edition of Krug Rosé, meanwhile, is composed of 28 different base wines from 7 different vintages, the oldest being 2005. It is a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 26% Pinot Meunier. 67% of the base wines for this edition were from 2014, 33% were reserve wines. The dosage lies between 5-6g/l.
“Krug Rosé is the dream of the fifth generation of the family, so it is still a baby,” noted Olivier. Cavil added that the pink wine is “the most difficult cuvée to create year after year.” Explaining, “If we have fewer wines in the orchestra, it means more of them have a bigger share of voice – so there is no compromise at all. We are looking for fruit – fruit, fruit. Fruit in all its forms, the cassis, redcurrant, summer fruit. We use terms like indulgence, like greediness, so we need fruit, but we also need a certain restraint of elegance, no heaviness at all, we need structure, but we also need lightness, you see, it is all about nuance.”
The 26th Edition of Krug Rosé offers “aromas of rose hips, cured ham, mulberries, redcurrant, peony pepper and pink grapefruit,” and “delights the palate with delicate flavors of honey, citrus and dried fruit with a long finish, enhanced by its fine bubbles.”
Krug Grand Cuvée 170 Édition is due to hit the shelves in the UK in late May with a price tag of £170-175. The Krug Rosé 26th Édition is set to arrive in August and be priced between £240-245.
For more information, head over to Champagne Krug’s official website.