Champagne Brut
Vintage 2011

The Champagne Krug Vintage represents one of the most fully realised expressions of the Maison's vision, a "two-dimensional" interpretation of the Krug style, built on the meeting of three grape varieties and a single harvest, chosen only when the year reveals an out-of-the-ordinary character. It is not a better or worse Krug than the others, but a different Krug, one able to express balance and completeness in continuity with its predecessors. It is the most rigorous and definitive reading the Maison offers of an unrepeatable year, endowed with a unique personality, translated into a Champagne that is rare and destined to endure over time. The result is a cuvée capable of harmonising the specific profile of a single harvest with the intense, deep, and inspired style that has always defined Krug.

Krug 2011 brings together finesse and power in an extraordinary vintage that the Maison has nicknamed "Vibrant Roundness". It was a year split in two, with reversed seasons and a paradoxical climate: an early summer arriving as soon as spring brought flowering in mid-May, three weeks earlier than usual, followed by rain and cool weather. The uncertainty reached its peak on the eve of the harvest, with four scorching days, heavy rains, and a sudden drop in temperature. The harvest, from 25 August to 3 September, yielded Pinot Noir of magnificent balance, Meunier of elegant freshness, and unusually juicy, ripe Chardonnay. In the final blend, Pinot Noir (46%) gives structure and balance, Chardonnay (38%) aromas of ripe, juicy fruit, and Meunier (17%) freshness and refined bitter notes. A broad, generous profile, the result of more than 12 years of ageing in the Maison's cellars.

On tasting, Krug 2011 appears with an intense, brilliant golden hue. On the nose, it opens with aromas of summer apricot and white fruits, followed by fresh citrus, minty and liquorice nuances, and a touch of basil. On the palate it is opulent, powerful, and round, with flavours of cooked, caramelised, and dried fruit, marzipan, honey, and hazelnut, and smoky hints of thyme and rosemary that evoke the Mediterranean scrubland in summer. The finish, chiselled and lively, lingers with notes of blood orange, sea salt, and grapefruit zest. Krug ID 322038