Krug Brut Vintage 1998 750ml

FRANCE : CHAMPAGNE

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

FULL-BODIED, HAZELNUT, CARAMELISED ORANGE PEEL, CRYSTALLISED CITRUS, GINGERBREAD, NEUTRAL OAK

1998 was a year of hard contrasts in Champagne — an August that broke the 1962 heat record, temperatures up to 39°C scorching 5 to 10% of the potential crop, heavy rain at month's end, then a dry, mild September and near-perfect conditions for the harvest. The heat made the Pinot Noir and Meunier opulent. The Chardonnay kept its nerve.

So Krug let it lead: 46% Chardonnay, mostly from the Côte des Blancs and Trépail, with 35% Pinot Noir from the southern Montagne de Reims and 19% Meunier. It is only the second Krug Vintage built around Chardonnay, after 1981, and the Tasting Committee nicknamed it A Tribute to Chardonnay. Every plot ferments on its own in small old oak casks Krug keeps neutral, and the wine spent more than a decade in Krug's cellars before release.

Bread, hazelnut, dried fruit and caramelised orange peel on the nose, cocoa and gingerbread as it warms, then crystallised citrus on a soft, creamy palate. Wine Spectator 98 pts: "The full package. Impressive."

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