101 Champagnes and other Sparkling Wines

with a higher proportion of older vintage wines in the blend, so the wine style is richer, more flavoursome and complex. Paired with Krug’s famous use of oak barrels, this means that Krug’s style is one of the richest expressions of champagne there is. Krug houses the most diverse range of reserve wines in the whole of Champagne with access to over 150 wines spanning 10 vintages. With obsessive attention to detail and unfaltering patience, Olivier Krug (Joseph’s great-great-grandson) creates wines which are some of the best in the region, and some of the most prestigious. Krug is expensive, it is bottled time, and it’s worth it.

Type: Champagne, brut, multi-vintage
Style: Lemon meringue pie
Price: £££
Stockists: High street
Toast:
Food: Sourdough pizza with smoked mozzarella
Occasion: Buying your first flat (if you have any money left)
Website: www.lansonchampagne.com
Tasting note: Notes of biscuit, shortbread and almonds smash into lemon, spun sugar and ripe apples. Intense and long, with sweet citrus, spice pineapple, samurai freshness and almond croissant notes – this is a champagne of incredible quality

KRUG GRAND CUVÉE

IT DOESN’T GET MORE SPECIAL THAN KRUG: THE MOST EXPENSIVE, stylish and most luxurious champagne house there is. Krug is the undisputed king of champagne; all hail. And it is a well-known aphrodisiac to boot! But considering the lofty mystique Krug now enjoys, the story started from humble beginnings.
German born Joseph Krug moved to France as a young man and cut his teeth working for Jacquesson Champagne. He was not content with the variable, inconsistent style produced in each vintage, and left at the age of 42 to create a champagne which didn’t yet exist: his own Champagne Krug.
The variants in the weather mean that style and quality drastically alter from one year to the next. Joseph’s philosophy was craftsmanship without compromise; his goal was to produce the best champagne there had ever been, without the restrictions of vintage variation. He wanted to create a cuvée which was the best expression of champagne, every year without fail. What he achieved revolutionised champagne forever, and the Krug Champagne style is not only evident in bottles of Krug today, but in every house that produces multi-vintage styles.
Krug’s non-vintage champagne contains a spread of different vintages

Brut nature / Zero dosage / Ultra brut: 0–2.5g sugar per bottle

but blanc de blancs made from white grapes and blanc de noirs made exclusively from red grapes are also important. Most of the world’s best sparkling wines mirror the grapes used in Champagne, particularly chardonnay as it is very versatile and grows well in most places. The grapes used in prosecco give a very different style of wine, simpler, with more flavour; the grapes in cava are different again.

Blanc de blancs, white champagne: 100% chardonnay, a white grape

Extra brut: 0–4.5g sugar per bottle

Extra sec / Extra dry: 9–13g

Sec: 13–24g sugar per bottle

Demi-sec: 24–37.5g sugar per

Doux: >37.5g sugar per bottle.