Krug Champagne Tasting with Special Guest Maggie Henriquez

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”
Mark Twain

If there was one wine that I would call the ultimate celebration wine, it would have to Champagne and if money is no object the wine that I will be celebrating with is Vintage Krug Champagne.  Krug is the ultimate collectors Champagne and although all the wines at this famous house are at the pinnacle of quality, the vintage Champagne produced at this famous house is the most sought after in the world of collectible bubbly.

Well here is the menu and list of wines for this Krug event which there are only 24 spaced available.  We have an incredible line-up of Krug Champagne in 750ml, Magnum and Jeroboam format for this “Once in a Lifetime” Champagne Krug event.  A total of eight Champagnes in all and I am addicted to A5 Wagyu after serving this on NYE so we will be featuring it again tonight for this seven course tasting menu.  The fee for this event is $450 + tax and remember if you don’t eat foie gras or raw fish Toni is happy to accommodate you just let us know when you make your reservation at 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Krug Champagne Tasting with Special Guest Maggie Henriquez
Tuesday, January 21st
7:30pm
Grande Cuvee 168th Edition Brut Champagne
Clos du Mesnil Vintage Brut Champagne 2004
Krug Vintage Brut Champagne 2006
Krug Vintage Brut Champagne 2004
Krug Vintage Brut Champagne 2002
Krug Vintage Brut Champagne 1995
Krug Rose Brut Champagne en Magnum
Grande Cuvee 161st Edition en Jeroboam

Menu
Charcuterie and Cheese Selection
Shoestring French Fries with Lemon Ginger Gremolata
Buckwheat Bellinis with American Sturgeon Caviar
Tuna Poke with Hawaiian Sea Salt, Lime, coconut and cilantro
Frozen Foie Gras powder served on Tomato Aspic with Beef Consommé
Candied Lemon Drop Sorbet with mint
A5 Wagyu Sashimi with Orange Ponzu dipping Sauce
Pineapple Upside cake with Caramel Drizzle

The price for this tasting which includes dinner is $450 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

All the Krug we have in the store on SALE!!

(6 bottle) Krug Grand Cuvee Edition 161 - 166
Price $2268.00   Sale $1995
(6 bottle) Krug Grand Cuvee Edition 162 - 167
Price $2268.00   Sale $1995

This is a collection of the first few releases of the Grand Cuvee with the edition number on the label.  These some as a 6 bottle case in a gift box presentation

NV Krug Grand Cuvee Brut Champagne 3 Liter
Price: $1620.00  Your Price: $1425.60        Not in Store:      Available in 5 - 7 days

NV Krug Grand Cuvee 167th Edition Champagne
Price: $210.00    Your Price: $184.80          Quantity in Stock: 18

MV Krug Rose Brut Champagne 23rd Edition
Price: $410.00    Your Price: $360.80          Quantity in Stock: 4

Vintage Krug

1989 Krug Collection Vintage Champagne Magnum
Price: $1885.50  Your Price: $1659.24        Quantity in Stock: 1

1995 Krug Vintage Champagne
Price: $475.00    Your Price: $418.00          Quantity in Stock: 4

1998 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $535.50    Sale $471.24

1998 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne 3 Liter
Price: $3135.00  Your Price: $2758.80        Quantity in Stock: 1

2002 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $450.00    Your Price: $396.00          Quantity in Stock: 4

2003 Krug Brut Champagne MAGNUM
Price: $1057.50  Your Price: $930.60          Quantity in Stock: 1

2004 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $378.00    Your Price: $332.64          Quantity in Stock: 3

2006 Krug Vintage Brut Champagne
Price: $378.00    Your Price: $332.64          Quantity in Stock: 12

Single Vineyard Champagne

2000 Krug "Clos du Mesnil" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
Price: $1700.00  Sale Price: $1350.00         Quantity in Stock: 3

2003 Krug Clos de Mesnil Blanc de Blanc Brut Champagne Magnum
Price: $3375.00  Your Price: $2970.00        Not in Store:      Available in 5 - 7 days

A bit about Krug:

"The Krug taste is both majestic and magisterial...there is the raw material, the attention to detail, the ageing, the handmade quality.  And there are the Krugs themselves, with their adherence to a certain vision of their wine, the palate memory of five generations, their lack of compromise...the "Krug taste" is an idée fixe, an obsession of the noblest kind.

Krug Champagne is a name that is synonymous with the highest quality - its aficionados claim that it belongs in the company of those stellar stalwarts like Rolls-Royce and Cartier.  To achieve this recognition, one needs more than just dedication or expertise (both of which the Krugs have in no short supply) or a large advertising budget.  One needs a philosophy of excellence that is steeped in history and is as solid and unconditional as a rock.  While many other Champagne firms have altered their styles to conform to modern tastes, the Krugs have basically never wavered from the traditions and styles established five generations ago.  And how successful has this policy been?  Robert Parker, perhaps America's foremost wine critic says: "There are a lot of fine Champagnes made in the world, but there is no better than that made by the very small house of Krug, whose champagnes are legendary not only for their quality but for their aging potential."  Serena Sutcliffe, a renowned British wine authority, in her marvelous book titled Champagne says: "In a changing world, where one is constantly reappraising values and beliefs in the light of experience and shifting ethical standards, Krug stands as solid and as reassuring as ever.  This edifice to quality and consistently high standards remains a monument to our ideas of excellence and a bastion in our fight against mediocrity."  This is a sampling of the high praise that comes from both sides of the Atlantic, but one need only ask a Champagne connoisseur from any part of the world: "Who produces the best Champagne?"  On everybody's short list will be the inimitable House of Krug.

Krug was founded in 1843 by Jean-Joseph Krug who was born in 1800 in Mainz, Germany, moved to Paris and then eventually settled in Champagne.  He rented a cellar in Reims and quickly established a reputation as a blender of cuvées.  His flair for quality soon attracted other Champagne houses whose owners solicited him to make up their own blends.  In a very short time the Krug firm began to prosper and export wine all over the world.  Jean-Joseph's son Paul succeeded him; and when Paul passed away in 1910, his eldest son, Joseph II (who harbored a true love of the sea more than a love of Champagne) reluctantly assumed control of the firm.  Joseph II was badly wounded during the fighting that raged in and around Champagne during World War I; and at war's end, his doctors had a very pessimistic prognosis for his survival.  Because his only son (Paul II) was still a child, he appointed a nephew as a general manager.  The doctors turned out to be wrong.  Joseph II eventually lived to be 98 years old, outlasted his nephew, and remained involved with Krug almost until his death.  Serena Sutcliffe instructs us that the moral of this happy ending is "...with champagne at one's side it does not do to be pessimistic about one's life expectancy."

Paul II began working in the business in 1935 and passed the firm on to his two sons, Henri and Rémi.  Henri handled most of the winemaking duties while Rémi was the managing director and Krug's ambassador-at -large.  Rémi tirelessly troted the globe promoting Krug in tastings and gatherings of "Krugies" about the world.  In May of 1990 we had the good fortune of joining Rémy Krug in a small luncheon at which was served the entire line of his Champagnes.  Besides this Grand Cuvée, we tasted (while listening to Rémy Krug extol the virtues and uniqueness of his Champagnes) the 1982 and 1964 vintages, the 1981 Clos du Mesnil, and the non-vintage rosé.  The Krug style - a common thread to all of them - was evident across the entire range of these quite different Champagnes.  There was the non-vintage Rosé with its deft balance, touch of raspberry cream, and its very pale color that reminded of the shyly rising sun in one of Monet's "Haystacks in Winter"; the elegant, austere, stylish 1982 vintage; the robust, lively flavors of the 1964 vintage with its honey-praline-hazelnut flavors; and the extremely austere, penetrating 1981 Clos du Mesnil with its toasty, vanilla, wheat-thin bouquet.  All were unmistakably Krug.

By Champagne standards Krug is quite small - less than 500,000 bottles (compared to 27,000,000 bottles annually at Moët) are produced.  Up until 1970, the Krugs purchased all the grapes for their Champagnes - preferring to leave the growing to those who knew how to do it best.  However, between 1970 and 1972 the Krugs acquired about fifteen hectares of land in Aÿ and Les Mesnil including a 1.87 hectare single vineyard known as Le Clos du Mesnil.  These vineyards are rated the top 100% in the échelles des cru (this is the rating system established in Champagne to classify the best vineyards and determine the price which the grapes can command).  The Clos du Mesnil - comprised of 100% Chardonnay - has existed since 1698 and is one of only three single-vineyard Champagnes produced in France.  The vineyards supply about 25% of Krug's needs, but only select growers are used for their remaining requirements.  A lady in Avize, for example, sells half her thirty hectare vineyard to the Krugs under a long term contract established in 1974.

Krug's wines - unlike most of the more "modern" houses - are fermented in oak casks.  The Krugs feel that the oak gives them the extra dimension of complexity and aromatics they seek in their wines.  Only the first pressing is used (Champagne law does not require it; but Krug law does!); the first pressing is known as the cuvée, and all Krug Champagne is cuvée only.  The wine is never filtered and is never released to market until five or more years after bottling (the longest in Champagne, to our knowledge).  The firm backs up its stocks with six years of supply from which to blend.  And for Krug, blending is the key. The Multi-vintage Grand Cuvée is Krug's bread and butter Champagne accounting for almost 80% of its production. Launched in 1978, the Grand Cuvée can be a blend of as many as fifty different base wines from as many as eight different vintages.  Like all Krug Champagnes it has an "intellectual" taste not well suited for all palates and one that goes better with food than most Champagnes (many of which are now relegated to service as forerunners to the meal rather than as companions with it)."  - Jim Turner, Founder of Wine Watch

Although the Krug family no longer owns the Champagne house, the house is now part of global conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH). Like most of the companies in the group, Krug runs with a certain amount of autonomy and Oliver Krug is now the face of the Krug family in charge of Marketing and still has a good deal to do with production.  The style has remained the same while the production at Krug may be up a little bit (I would bet that Moet is making more than 27,000,000 bottles annually today), Krug is still one of the ultimate collectibles from Champagne today.  This perceived and real autonomy has played a large role in maintaining the house's reputation and consistent style.