Now one of four vintages, including 1989, 1990 & 1995, to be held back in Krug’s cellars after the original release, this champagne is powerful, elegant and distinctive. Krug Collection bottles are regularly tasted and appraised by Krug Cellar Master, Julie Cavil, until deemed to have blossomed into an outstanding new facet of this Champagne. Krug Vintage will then receive its cork and become Krug Collection. Each collection bottle is individually numbered.

Krug ID: 417035 | Each bottle of Krug has a Krug ID on the back label which enables you to discover the story of that very bottle. You can do so using the smartphone App or on the Krug website.

Weather: The year 1988 alternated perfectly between heat and rain until harvest, which took place between September 26th and October 6th. It was a year without excesses that created the conditions for a slow maturation while keeping a very high level of freshness. The result was extremely balanced grapes with a perfect equilibrium between freshness and maturity.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand & Premier Cru
Grape Varieties: 50% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay, 18% Meunier
Lees Ageing: 28 years
Disgorged: Winter 2017
Alcohol: 12%
Drink: Now to 2032

Tasting Note: Deep, intense golden colour with an exotic, complex nose consisting of white fruits, truffle, spices, honey, slightly browned apples and a hint of high toned flowers. The palate is full of orange blossom, dried figs, ripe quince, cinnamon and ginger. The mid-palate has chocolate, coffee and honey which leads to a finish of mineral and spices and that trademark saline lift on the finish. A chance to taste Krug after long lees ageing and at 30+ years old a rarity having spent its life in perfect cellaring at Krug in Reims.

Just five years after Joseph Krug founded his eponymous Champagne House in 1843, he documented his great vision for Krug in a cherry-red leather notebook. In it, he revealed the principles of creating a champagne of incredible richness yet great elegance, of selecting only the finest elements from the greatest terroirs, rejecting mediocre fruit and making both a non-vintage and a vintage cuvée - revolutionary at the time. Discovered in 2010 by current House Director and sixth generation of the founding family Olivier Krug, the ideals in this notebook and Krug's resolute commitment to them have secured their position as the most luxurious and exclusive of all Champagne producers.

Unlike other Champagne Houses, Krug's range consists of prestige cuvées only. Their iconic non-vintage Grande Cuvée is a masterful blend of some 120 wines, vintage Krugs are renowned as true classics, majestically displaying the characteristics of each harvest and their unique and exclusive single-vineyard champagnes, Clos du Mesnil and Clos d'Ambonnay are the ultimate rarities. The recent introduction of ID codes displayed on the back of every bottle - revealing base year, disgorgement periods and product information - has helped revise the vision of Krug in line with the great founder's philosophy.

Cellar Master: Julie Cavil
Winery Location: Reims | Champagne, France
Champagne Region: Montagne de Reims
Annual Production (bottles): 760,000