Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man, Joseph Krug, to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Since 1843, the House of Krug has honoured this vision with each new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée. Unlike other Maison’s the wines needed for their NV are selected first, in the spring following the harvest. Then Krug considers the elements they want to keep from the last harvest for their reserves and finally they decide if they have the right components to make a vintage from that year. Often in great vintages like 2012 they decide they want more of the great wines in their reserve program rather than make a Krug 2012.

“Every year since the foundation of the House, a new Edition of Krug Grande Cuvée is created, every year the inspiration will be the same, but the creation will be totally unique and different.” Olivier Krug

This is the 165th creation of Krug Grande Cuvée and the third release to display the Edition on the label. Based on 2009, it is a blend of 127 wines from nine vintages: the oldest being 1990 and the youngest 2009. After a frosty start to the year, the wonderfully mild spring offered an auspicious beginning to the growing season. From late summer onwards, the vines basked in warm and dry conditions and the grapes ripened beautifully. When the harvest began, they were in excellent health and showed a perfect level of maturity.

Krug ID: 416036 | 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.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: Predominately Premier & Grand Cru
Grape Varieties: 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 16% Meunier
Base Vintage: 2009
Reserve Wine: 31%
Ageing: 6 years on the lees
Disgorged: Autumn 2016
Dosage: 6 g/l
Alcohol: 12%
Drink: Now to 2028

Tasting Note: Notes of toasted bread, hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar and jellied fruits may take you by surprise. You may even taste hints of apples still on the tree, flowers in bloom, ripe and dried fruit, almonds, marzipan, gingerbread, sweet spices and even brioche and honey. You may also notice its exceptional freshness in the mouth, with rich and tangy flavours of lemon and grapefruit enhanced by the subtlety of its fine and elegant bubbles. Krug Grande Cuvée can age beautifully.The precision of recent releases is unprecedented and just how many decades they might hold in the cellar is anyone's guess. The ultimate non-vintage.

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