Our story
A visionary
house
The Genesis
the story
of an inventor
When Joseph Krug established the Champagne House bearing his name in 1843, driven by his understanding that the true essence of Champagne is pleasure itself, his dream was to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. He went beyond all known boundaries of Champagne creation, founding a House where all Champagnes would be of the same level of distinction. In 1848, he committed his vision to the pages of his dark cherry personal notebook.
“In principle, a good Champagne House ought to make two Champagnes of the same quality. […] Champagne Number 1: this composition should be altered every year to re-create the most generous expression of Champagne. Champagne Number 2: […] the Champagne of circumstances.”
JOSEPH KRUG
Founder, House of Krug
savoir-faire
Paying close attention to the vineyard’s character, respecting the individuality of each plot and its wine, as well as building an extensive library of reserve wines from many different years allowed Joseph Krug to fulfil his dream.
Krug Craftsmanship
The art of composition
A cornerstone of Krug’s craftsmanship is the concept of individuality, or the art of turning the harvest from every plot into a separate wine and then following its individual character before any blending decision is made. In order to transcend the notion of vintage in creating a Champagne with exceptional quality, Joseph Krug began building a collection of reserve wines to which six generations have contributed. This library now houses 150 wines, each expressing the personality of an individual plot.
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Notes of menthol, liquorice or yellow fruit
Dense texture or salty tang
Crisp wood and a little spice
Every year we re-create the dream of Joseph Krug with a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, a unique masterpiece of contrast and texture characterised by its fullness of flavours and aromas. We consider the personalities of around 400 wines, each of which incarnates the individuality of a unique plot. In so doing, we pay homage to the diversity of Champagne, its terroirs and plots but also to our winegrowers, for if you were to put two different growers on the same plot, the resulting wine would not have the same expression. Our job at Krug is thus to reunite in one sip the most complete sensorial experience a Champagne can offer.
Julie Cavil
Krug cellar master
The edtions number
The House of Krug was founded in November 1843, after the harvest of that year. One can therefore assume that the first Krug harvest took place in 1844, around when Joseph Krug composed the first realisation of his dream. Krug Grande Cuvée was born.
The first re-creation of Krug Grande Cuvée – the first Édition – was therefore composed around the harvest of 1845. Every year only once a year a new creation, a sole blend, a unique bottling – thus a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée – is created. The Édition number is the number of times this act of creation has happened, which also corresponds to the number of years in the House of Krug the founder’s dream has been re-created.
Once crafted, the bottle enters Krug’s cellars to rest for around seven years.
Joseph Krug did not believe in hierarchies between his Champagnes, clearly written in his personal notebook in 1848. Today the House offers seven Champagnes, all of the same undisputed quality, each illustrating a different expression of Nature. The only factor deciding pricing would be rarity. And so it is today.
of enjoying krug
Epernay since 1846
The Family House
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