Krug 2006
- Vintage
- 2006
- Country
- France
- Region
- Champagne
- Size
- 750ml
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier
As I reported when it was released, Krug's 2006 Brut is clearly one of the vintage's highlights. Offering up aromas of dried fruits, pear, freshly baked bread, caramelized apples, honeycomb and toasted sourdough, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with superb concentration, racy acids and an impressively tightly wound profile for this demonstrative vintage. I observed last year that this is surprisingly reserved for the vintage, and if anything, that quality is even more in evidence today. While many 2006 Champagnes are likely to be at their best in their demonstrative youth, this is one wine unquestionably built for the long haul. Drink: 2020~2045 - WA97
A stunner, with mouthwatering vibrancy and focus married to all of the opulence of a great 2006 Champagne. Richly fragrant, offering nutmeg, cardamom, jasmine, lemongrass, espresso and grilled nut notes enmeshed in a core of black currant and tangerine fruit flavors. Beautifully creamy and complex, this glides across the palate on the long, lasting finish. Disgorged Winter 2017-2018. Drink now through 2030. - WS97
Krug is one of Champagne's most prestigious houses and its wines are among the most collectible and expensive in Champagne. The house was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug, a native of the Mosel region in Germany, who had moved to France and spent some time working for Jacquesson, the leading Champagne house of the time.
Krug's philosophy was that every Champagne should be the best possible expression, and eschewed the common idea of a hierarchy of Champagne. Instead, he began to craft a premium wine from a reserve of wines vinified separately by the growers themselves, a wine that would eventually become the Grande Cuvée.
This wine sits alongside the likes of Dom Pérignon and Cristal at the top of the Champagne tree, and is a blend of 120 different wines from 10 or more vintages from the so-called Krug Library (a repository of still wines held prior to blending and refermenting in bottle). It is aged for six years, and is noted for its complex brioche and spice characters.
Today, the wines are still vinified by individual plot, and are stored in the Krug Library. Every year, the chef de cave heads a tasting committee which decides on the final blend.
This library holds reserve wines anywhere from the current vintage to those 50 years old and are produced from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, which are all grown at Krug and used throughout the collection.
Krug also makes several other Champagnes, including a rosé non-vintage and a Krug vintage, which is only produced in the best years.
On top of this, there are two rare and highly collectible wines from small, walled plots considered among the best in Champagne: the Krug Clos du Mesnil and Krug Clos d'Ambonnay, produced from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir respectively.
Krug is part of the wider Moët Hennessy group of companies. While the house is headquartered in Reims, a new winery is being developed at the Clos d'Ambonnay site and is due to open in 2023.
Last updated 10-Feb-2023 - Information from Wine Searcher