Krug Grande Cuvee; Champagne fit for kings!

I had an incredible opportunity this morning to taste 3 classic Krug Champagnes, the third being the great Krug Grande Cuvee. To call this the Cadillac of Champagnes would be an insult! More like the Lamborghini Reventon I’d say (you might want to “google” that so we’re on the same page). Blended from multiple growths, over six to ten different years, and as many as 150 parcels, this champagne truly is an ageless symphony of harmonizing aromas and flavors that continue to open and evolve with every savored sip. I found it to have a very complex and ever changing nose of butter-cream, grain, biscuit, honey, and ripened tree fruit with incredible depth and boldness. That’s just the beginning! Let me see if I can paint a more vivid picture. Imagine your grandmother’s apple pie baking in the oven (assuming she was a great cook resulting from generations of teaching and the beneficiary of treasured family recipes from at least a century past), homemade completely from scratch with a rich and flaky buttery crust and fresh specially seasoned apple filling. You’re getting closer, but there’s still something more. You know where the apple filling oozes out around the finger pinched crusted edge, thickens, turns to a syrupy golden brown, and even burns (just a little) here and there? Now you’re getting it! You really have to try this champagne for yourself to grasp its quality. A culmination of Krug family tradition dating back to 1843 founded by Johann-Joseph Krug, the Grande Cuvee is truly a sensational taste experience fit for kings.

Carrying a 95 point rating from Wine Spectator, quality does come at a price - especially when it’s in limited supply. Considering that Krug champagnes account for less than half of 1 percent of champagnes available in the market, count yourself lucky to even find the Grande Cuvee, let alone for anything less than a worthy $150. But hey, it’s CHRISTMAS! Not to mention that we're about to break from the chains of 2010, and celebrate in a new year of hope and breakthrough... Krug Grande Cuvee would be a great pinnacle on which to start.