1988 | Krug | Clos du Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut

Details

Sparkling Wine: 1988 | Krug | Clos du Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut

Full color. Extremely fine, persistent mousse. Extraordinary mineral bath of a nose, complicated by pungent lime, iodine, peppermint and coconut; calls to mind a top Montrachet. A superconcentrated wine of incredible palate-staining intensity.

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Producer: Krug

Ratings: WS | 97 VN | 100

Vintage: 1988

Size: 750ml

ABV: 12.5%

Varietal: Chardonnay

Country/Region: France, Champagne Blanc de Blancs

Full color. Extremely fine, persistent mousse. Extraordinary mineral bath of a nose, complicated by pungent lime, iodine, peppermint and coconut; calls to mind a top Montrachet. A superconcentrated wine of incredible palate-staining intensity. Notes of toast, lemon and minerals. With its combination of powdered stone and powerful acidity, this is like a solid in the mouth, and almost painful today. Nearly a minute after swallowing this wine (spitting it is virtually impossible), the flavor had barely begun to flag.

Reviews:

• Wine Spectator: A glorious Champagne that expresses both fresh fruit and nutty, mature elements. The interplay of spring blossoms, citrus and honey, with hazelnut, coffee and fresh grains against a backdrop of finesse and depth creates a dynamic, dramatic impression. Showing its acidic structure at this stage, but the finish previews what’s to come if it’s cellared.

• Vinous: You know you are in for a special night when the first wine served is Krug’s 1988 Clos du Mesnil. Where do I start? Everything about the wine is sensational from start to finish. An endless array of crushed rocks, minerals and bright citrus emerges from this intensely pointed, chiseled Champagne. The elegance, though, is really in the texture. The wine has acquired an element of vinosity over the years, with the tiniest and finest of bubbles and simply extraordinary finesse. It is a wine of mind-blowing purity and breathtaking elegance. Simply put, wine does not get better than this. The 1988 Clos du Mesnil is an eternal wine.

Producer Information

Krug is one of Champagne’s most prestigious houses and its wines are among the most collectible and expensive in Champagne. The house was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug, a native of the Mosel region in Germany, who had moved to France and spent some time working for Jacquesson, the leading Champagne house of the time.Krug’s philosophy was that every Champagne should be the best possible expression, and eschewed the common idea of a hierarchy of Champagne. Instead, he began to craft a premium wine from a reserve of wines vinified separately by the growers themselves, a wine that would eventually become the Grande Cuve.This wine sits alongside the likes of Dom Prignon and Cristal at the top of the Champagne tree, and is a blend of 120 different wines from 10 or more vintages from the so-called Krug Library (a repository of still wines held prior to blending and refermenting in bottle). It is aged for six years, and is noted for its complex brioche and spice characters.