Champagne house Krug has released its latest ‘Grande Cuvée’, the 167th ‘edition’ and based around the 2011 vintage.
The 2011 vintage was rather atypical, starting off warm and then followed by cold and wet weather and little sun.
It was also the second earliest harvests since 1822 but a largely healthy crop and “surprising structure”.
The final blend, nonetheless, used reserve wines from 12 previous vintages dating back to 1995.
The final composition was 47% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 17% Meunier and it spent seven years on its lees in the Krug cellars before disgorgement.
Cellar master Eric Lebel said: “In this 167th Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, we have crafted the fullest expression of Champagne with 191 different wines.
“I selected some wines from behind the Montagne de Reims Nord, in Mareuil-sur-Ay, for their surprisingly beautiful, ample and fruity expressions, to which I added Pinot Noir wines from Ambonnay, Ay and Bouzy which I chose for their structure.
“Some of the older wines came from plots in Verzonay, to bring finesse and mature elegance. I looked to certain plots in Sainte-Gemme for the fruit expression of their Meuniers and, finally, some plots in Côte des Blancs, Chouilly and Oger for the character and body of their Chardonnays.”
