Krug

Joseph Krug, born in Mainz on the Rhine in 1800, joined Maison Jacquesson as an accountant and book-keeper before expanding into tasting and assessment, then breaking away in 1843 to found his own house. His departure was philosophical: Krug believed Champagne quality should not depend on the variability of a single growing season, and that the highest expression of the wine was a multi-vintage assemblage drawing on a deep reserve of older wines. The Maison he built around this conviction has remained the most uncompromising practitioner of multi-vintage Champagne ever since, with Grande Cuvée the definitive expression of the founding idea.

• Joseph Krug born 1800 in Mainz; worked at Maison Jacquesson before founding Krug in 1843
• Founding philosophy: highest Champagne is multi-vintage, not single-vintage
• Grande Cuvée built on this principle from the founder's first releases
• Sixth-generation Olivier Krug now serves as Director of the House

Krug ferments all base wines plot by plot in small 205-liter oak casks, an unusual practice in modern Champagne where most houses moved to stainless steel decades ago. The Maison also maintains a library of approximately 150 reserve wines held back in bottle for future Grande Cuvée editions. This library is the operational basis for the multi-vintage philosophy, supplying the older wines that let each blend draw on ten or more different vintages.

• All base wines vinified plot by plot in small 205-liter oak casks
• Reserve wine library holds approximately 150 wines
• Each Grande Cuvée Édition draws on this library to compose a coherent multi-vintage assemblage
• Unusual practice in modern Champagne, where most houses ferment in stainless steel

Krug owns two of Champagne's most celebrated walled-vineyard monopoles: Clos du Mesnil, a 1.84-hectare walled Chardonnay parcel in the heart of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (walled since 1698, acquired by Rémi and Henri Krug in 1971), and Clos d'Ambonnay, a 0.68-hectare walled Pinot Noir parcel in the heart of Ambonnay (walled since 1766). The Krug brothers discovered the Ambonnay plot in 1991 after a seven-year search and acquired it in 1994; the first Clos d'Ambonnay was made from the 1995 vintage and revealed in 2007. The first Clos du Mesnil came from the 1979 vintage and was first presented in 1986. Both cuvées are vintage-only and represent the inverse of Grande Cuvée: single-vineyard, single-vintage, single-grape Champagnes that test the multi-vintage philosophy by showing what extreme terroir focus can produce.

• Clos du Mesnil 1.84 ha walled Chardonnay monopole; 1979 vintage first presented in 1986
• Clos d'Ambonnay 0.68 ha walled Pinot Noir monopole; discovered 1991, acquired 1994, first vintage 1995
• Clos du Mesnil walled since 1698; Clos d'Ambonnay walled since 1766, both centuries before Krug's acquisition
• Both cuvées are single-vineyard, single-vintage, single-grape Champagnes

Krug Grande Cuvée is the Maison's flagship, blended from more than 120 base wines drawn from ten or more different vintages, with some reserve wines up to fifteen years old, and aged a minimum of seven years on lees before disgorgement. Recent editions illustrate the scale: the 172ème Édition is a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years, and the 173ème Édition a blend of 150 wines from 13 different years. In 2016 Krug introduced numbered Éditions on the label, beginning with Édition 163; each Édition number is the cumulative count of Grande Cuvée blends since the house's founding in 1843. Beyond Grande Cuvée, the Maison produces Krug Rosé, Krug Vintage in declared years, the Krug Collection (late-released library Vintage Krug), and the two Clos cuvées. Krug is one of the few Maisons whose entire range is positioned at the prestige tier without a separate broader-market cuvée.

• Grande Cuvée numbered by Édition since 2016, beginning with Édition 163
• Each Édition number counts Grande Cuvée blends since the house's founding in 1843
• House range: Grande Cuvée, Rosé, Vintage, Collection, Clos du Mesnil, Clos d'Ambonnay
• Entire range positioned at prestige tier with no broader-market cuvée

Krug was sold by Rémy Cointreau to LVMH in January 1999 and today sits within the Moët Hennessy Champagne group. The Krug family remains actively involved in all key decisions, though it does not manage day-to-day operations, with sixth-generation Olivier Krug as Director of the House. Julie Cavil has served as chef de cave since 1 January 2020, the first woman in the role, succeeding Éric Lebel, who remained with the house as deputy director. About twenty years in total are required to create a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée, counting reserve-wine maturation, lees aging, and time on cork, the extended development that justifies the prestige price tier.