During the first week of September, Food & Wine
magazine along with Chef Roy Yamaguchi and Chef Alan Wong hosted the 2nd Annual
Hawaii Food & Wine Festival. The four day event featured numerous dinners,
cocktail seminars and educational tours highlighting locally grown products. Of
course, since Food & Wine magazine was one of the hosts, several wine
tastings were also offered paneled by several Master Sommeliers. Way back in
April when tickets first went on sale, I knew I had to attend the Krug
Champagne tasting which included the NV Brut, NV Rose, the 1995, 1996, 1998 and
2000 vintages plus the 1998 Clos du Mesnil and the 1996 Clos d'Ambonnay. Of
course, my enthusiasm in attending the tasting was purely altruistic in nature
since several local charities were the beneficiaries of ticket sales including
the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation, the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, Leeward Community College,
Paepae o He'eia and Papahana Kuaola. Okay, I can't lie. The only thing on my
mind was Krug Champagne. Benefitting charity made it cooler.
The House of Krug
Started in 1843 by Joseph Krug, the vision was to create
the ultimate pleasure in Champagne that transcended individual vintages and was
available every year. Though not every Champagne enthusiast will state that
Krug is their favorite, most tasters can identify it in blind tastings. From
the barrel fermentation of wine up to 15 years old which imparts just a hint of
oak to the use of only designated vintages - 10 to 15 different vintages - in
their NV or multi-vintage Cuvee to the extended period on the lees gives Krug a
characteristic richness that you find in their Grande Cuvee and Rose.
The Distinguished
Panel
The tasting panel included Master Sommeliers Richard
Betts formerly of the Little Nell Hotel in Aspen, Colorado and the Betts &
Scholl wine label, Joseph Spellman of Justin Vineyards and Winery and Hawaii's
own, Roberto Viernes of American Wine and Spirits along with Seth Box, Director
of Education at Moet Hennessey (the conglomerate that now owns the Krug house).
As the host Master Sommelier, Roberto introduced the
panel then immediately stated for the record that if he were to list the top
wines he's every sampled in his career, Krug Champagne would occupy several
spaces on that list. And though the Halekulani graciously provided "spit
cups" in case you didn't want to swallow each Krug Champagne, Richard
Betts immediately chimed in that "this is a Krug tasting", "we
don't need these" and tossed his "spit cup" off of his table.
The Tasting
The price that appears in brackets is the lowest price I
found on the internet in the US. The rating on a five point scale is from yours
truly and I personally would purchase any wine with a 4/5 rating barring any
cost prohibitive wines - most of these fall into that category.
NV Grande Cuvee ($179, 4/5)
As Seth Box stated, tastings at the Krug house usually
end with the NV since it's the most complex Champagne to produce. He likened it
to visiting a nursery with a 100 infants and accurately predicting that one
infant would grow up to be a physician while another would be President of
Malaysia while a third would be in jail by the time they were 17 years old.
AND, you had to predict how well everyone would play with each other. Such is
the predicament of blending multiple lots of wine for a classic house Champagne
taste.
Freshly baked bread on the nose with ripe stone fruit and
citrus peel that expand on the palate with a seamless flow and a medium long
finish.
NV Rose ($250, 4.75/5)
First released in 1983 after years of the younger Krug
generation trying to convince the older generation to produce a Rose Champagne.
Supposedly after a blind tasting in the winery, the ruling Krug generation told
the younger generation that IF, Krug did release a Rose Champagne it would
taste like this sample. Which actually was the experimental Krug Rose.
Complexity wise, combine the complexity of the Grand Cuvee then add some still
Pinot Noir to the mix.
Light ripe cherry and orange peel on the nose with a lush
mouth filling palate with a touch of mineral on the back end and new flavor
sensations that emerge with each sip with a long finish.
1995 ($194, 4.5/5)
One of the few samples of Krug that I actually tasted
beforehand... I purchased a bottle for my 50th celebration.
Slightly toasted brioche and citrus curd on the nose with
toast and rich citrus on the full rich palate with a very long finish.
2000 ($200, 4.5/5)
The most recent vintage released by Krug... and if you
haven't noticed, we're well into 2012. That's because of the extended aging on
the lees (expended yeast) then several more years of final bottle aging before
release. Most other Champagne houses have already released their 2004 vintage.
With a very perfumed nose of citrus, brioche and a touch
of mineral. Rich on the palate with a seamless flow and a medium long finish.
Drinkable now but definitely hasn't hit that sweet spot of consumption.
1998 ($219, 4.8/5)
One of the few Krug Champagnes that was produced
predominantly with Chardonnay.
With a very perfumed nose of citron and a touch of
mandarin, freshly baked brioche and mineral with loads of finesse on the palate
and a very long finish. My personal favorite to drink right now though it still
has room to improve with additional aging.
1998 Clos du Mesnil ($680, 4.5/5)
Produced only from grapes from the vaunted Clos du Mesnil
vineyard - arguably the greatest source of Chardonnay grapes worldwide.
Rich citrus curd and toasted brioche on the nose with a
touch of minerality. Initial toastiness on the palate which gives way to citrus
curd leading to a long finish.
1996 ($319, 3.75/5)
The latest of the 95+ point Champagne vintages - previous
95+ point vintages include the 1990 and 1985.
With citrus on the nose and brioche on the palate and a
medium long finish this Champagne is definitely years away from hitting its
sweet spot of consumption - probably 5 to 10 years hence the sub 4 point score.
If you uncork a bottle for me in this time frame, my personal rating will
probably improve so I'll be waiting for the call.
1996 Clos d'Ambonnay ($1900, 4.5/5)
Probably the most expensive wine straight out of the
winery. Mainly due to basic economics, the purely Pinot Noir vineyards of the
Clos d'Ambonnay are only about a third of the acreage of the Clos du Mesnil
(and look at how expensive that Champagne is).
Ripe semi-dried cherry and candied citrus on the nose
with hints of mineral then expanding on the palate with each sip. Unfortunately
at this point, it's still very young at least 5 to 10 years from its sweet spot
with prominent acid on the finish. Give me a call in 5 to 10 years when you
uncork your bottle and it may end up close to a 5 out of 5 rating!
Final Words
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