Krug

Joseph Krug founded his Champagne house in Reims in 1843. The house makes a new Édition of Grande Cuvée each year, selecting component wines from different plots and vintages. Its tasting committee assesses about 400 wines after the harvest before the cellar master makes the blend. That is the pool considered, not the number necessarily used in a bottle.

Grande Cuvée and the clos

Grande Cuvée is the house’s multi-year expression. Krug Vintage draws from one harvest. Clos du Mesnil is Chardonnay from one walled plot in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and one year; Clos d’Ambonnay follows the same single-plot, single-year approach with Pinot Noir from Ambonnay. These wines make different choices about blending and site.

Buying and visiting

Check the Édition number on a Grande Cuvée bottle. Its six-digit Krug iD gives information about the wine and its creation. Krug’s house at 5 rue Coquebert in Reims is not open to the general public, so explore the range through a wine merchant or restaurant rather than planning a public cellar tour.