Krug Champagne Labels and Vintages.

If the king of wines is widely known to be Champagne, then the king of Champagnes title must be handed to Krug... No? Well it certainly is in contention for this title both on the commercial branding scene and amongst the wine professionals and consumers. 

We think it only fair to get a opinion from varied wine professionals within different sectors of the industry, so firstly let us take a look at what they say so we get a decent democratic answer:

Paulius Keturakis - Owner of the 'Champagne Route Bar' in central London which is a restaurant and a Champagne / traditional sparkling wine bar:

"I certainly agree that Krug is the king when it comes to Champagne both commercially and in quality. I have enjoyed and poured 100's of not 1'000's of Champagne labels, experienced some of the finest labels (to include grower labels), but myself and customers agree, there is something special about Krug."

Christopher Burr MW - Senior wine professional who has worked at many great producers importing marketing and selling their wines, such  Krug Champagne, Bollinger Champagne, Bonneau du Martray and Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite (visit Christopher's website today):

"Yes, either King, or to use a musical expression, Maestro, as the blending is formidable."

Tatiana Mann - Russian wine professional, certified Educator in Sherry Wines and holds Diploma WSET along with degrees in both Chemical technology and Psychology (find Tatiana on Instagram):

"The standard Krug, Grande Cuveé and Rosé, is at the same level of most quality releases such as for me the Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, so I am not sure it can be regarded 'generally' as the King of Champagnes. Though Krug's top labels, like Clos de Mesnil, is at such a higher and sophisticated level and generally for either the most special occasions or for the most knowledgeable connoisseurs, who really understand elegance in the bottle. This allows Krug to be categorised as one of the King of Champagnes."

Edward Kaukoranta - An expert on Champagne and author of 'Drinking Dom Pérignon 1921 to 2013'. He is also very active and creative on social media under the name Edward of Champagne:

"Intriguing question! I'd actually say that Dom Pérignon would be the king of Champagnes and if a person, then I would say Richard Geoffroy (chef-de-cave of Dom Pérignon 1990-2018). By quality and quantity, Dom Pérignon is superior.

I can understand what you mean by Krug being the king, though of recent I do not think they have be doing too well on drinkability of the fresh releases of vintages and Grande Cuvée's altho the 172ème is beautiful. I love Krug but Dom Perignon is the king for me, or maybe in Champagne terms it should be titled the Queen - Though who says there only has to be one King or Queen?"

So, it is more or less over the line in being named King, though the jury is out somewhat. Nonetheless, you can find the winery based in Reims (5 rue Coquebert, Reims, FR 51100) and upon invitation, you can enjoy a most wonderful tour and tasting. It's history dates back to 1843 (founded by Joseph Krug).

Cuvées of Krug:

Grande Cuvée

Rosé

Vintage

Clos du Mesnil

Clos d’Ambonnay

Collection

Champagne Krug also comes in varying bottles sizes:

Half bottle 37.5 cl

Standard bottle 75cl

Magnum 1.5l

Jeroboam 3l

Full list of Champagne Krug label releases:

Grande Cuvée:

Current release 172'nd edition

Rosé:

Current release 28'th edition

Vintage:

1880, 1889, 1893, 1900, 1904, 1914, 1915, 1920, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1937, 1938, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011

Clos du Mesnil:

1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008

Clos d’Ambonnay:

1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006

Collection:

1928, 1929, 1937, 1938, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995

Article in progress...