Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition 75 cl

Joseph Krug, a German immigrant from the Rhineland, became a partner in Jacquesson, one of the most important maisons of the time, before founding the maison that would bear his name in 1834. Krug wanted to try to realize his vision, which was to conceive the Champagne as a unique and highly prestigious wine also and above all in the union of several vintages, thus enhancing the concept of cuvée, regardless of the individual vintages. After years of experimentation, he launched his first champagnes in 1943, and continued to produce them personally until 1966, the year of his death. Initially only two products were marketed, Numero 1, an assembly cuvée, which can be considered as the ancestor of the Grande Cuvée, and Numero 2, a vintage, produced only in the great vintages. Indeed many years later this vision of him can be said to have come true; one can only love or hate the Krug style, certainly among the most unmistakable in the region. To do this, the maison only procures the best grapes, whether they come from its own vineyards or from suppliers, and uses wooden "fûts" of 205 hg, slightly smaller than a classic barrique, which, being filled for about ⅘ of their capacity, they allow the peculiar evolution of the wine. After this procedure, we proceed to the tasting of the wines, with particular attention paid to the possibility of creating great vintage champagnes, but above all to the Grande Cuvée. Many vin de reserve are already used for this product, since the cellar always maintains a stock of at least 6 vintages. In fact, it can be affirmed that Krug would continue to produce champagne for at least 6 years even if suddenly no more grapes were harvested; usually between 35% and 50% of reserve wine is used. The famous home of the Krug family, purchased by Paul Krug I at Rue de Coquebert 5, is still the company headquarters today and is famous for the labyrinthine cellars dug into the basement, which allow Krug wines to rest optimally.