Each year, the House House of Krug honours Joseph Krug’s vision, and they do so by unveiling a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, the most generous expression of Champagne. Joseph was a man who understood the pleasure Champagne brings, and his goal was to create the finest Champagne in the world. Every year, the House of Krug makes it its mission to replicate and improve upon Joseph’s vision.

The champagne industry is filled with well-known Champagne brands, but few can consider themselves to be on the same footing as the House of Krug. The renowned champagne producers go beyond the notion of vintage with its Grande Cuvée. To achieve excellence and perfection, they carefully blend 120 individual wines, which have been kept for more than ten different years, in one incredible bottle. This artful blending creates a Champagne like no other with an incredible aroma and a rich, full flavour.

Things change and in 2017, the House decided to display the Édition number on the front label of its Krug Grande Cuvée, something entirely new for the Maison. The number has a special significance as it denotes the years the founder’s dream has been artfully recreated. The addition of the number was a turning point in the Champagne house’s history and brought to light the beauty, uniqueness, and collectability of these creations. Now, more than one hundred and seventy-five years from the date the first Krug Grande Cuvée was born, the House of Krug is unveiling to the world its Krug Grande Cuvée 170 ème Édition.

It’s not only a Grande Cuvée that they are bringing to the table in 2022. The fifth generation of the House of Krug also wanted to create the finest rosé Champagne every year. For this year, they’ve unveiled their Krug Rosé 26 ème Édition, which is the 26th Rosé in its history. Like its Grande Cuvée, the Krug Rosé 26 ème Édition also has the same special treatment with its label and holds the promise of bold and adventurous gastronomic experiences.

A musical approach to Champagne creation
At Krug, each individual plot of vines gives birth to a unique wine that the House keeps separately, following the evolution of its character to achieve the utmost precision and balance at the moment of blending. In musical terms, each plot of vines is a musician and each grape variety an instrument, while the year is the musical score.

The unique approach allows its Cellar Master to identify the wines to compose each year’s creation most harmoniously, like a conductor, auditioning musicians from the harvest year, as well as from previous years, who will perform together with the symphony of Champagne. This musical masterpiece is called Krug Grande Cuvée, the most generous expression of Champagne, re-created every single year, regardless of climate variations.

Krug Echos Limited Edition: The Krug Studio Experience
The origin of Krug x Music dates back to more than a century, as love for music has been the unsung muse for many members of the Krug family. In today’s ever-changing world, the House recognises and embraces its duty to go beyond traditional boundaries, connecting with Krug Lovers through a universal language that transcends cultures, borders and linguistics, one which can evoke deep sensations at the core of the shared human experience. At Krug, Music is considered the natural tool to forge such a powerful connection with its global community network.

Building on the notion of food pairing and translating this idea into music, Krug invites guests to experience its Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition through a Music Pairing. Every year, the Champagne House invites artists to translate their perception of the new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée into music. This year, the House takes the Music Pairing experience to another level with a visual display to compliment the tasting.

With the purchase of Krug Echoes Limited Edition, the highly coveted limited edition Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition gift box, fans of its Champagne will be able to access The Krug Studio experience, which has been curated by multi-talented composer and Krug lover Ozark Henry.

Henry explores the act of the creation of Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition, from the Cellar Master’s inspiration to the final performance of 195 highly talented musicians. This immersive, “soundsorial” journey will open gateways to a new dimension, enhancing each sip and revealing new facets of Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition.

Krug Echoes Limited Edition will be available to purchase in-store and online from 1st June 2022 at Watson’s Wine, ETC Wine, The House of Connoisseur and Avize.

Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition and the Krug Rosé 26ème Édition
The varying circumstances of the year uniquely shape each musician’s melody. Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition (above) & Krug Rosé 26ème Édition were crafted around the harvest of 2014, an erratic year in Champagne that oscillated between hot, dry spells and cool, rainy periods. Vines developed under good conditions, ensuring a generous harvest.

The contrasting weather preserved freshness and resulted in great heterogeneity throughout the region, underscoring the importance of the House’s plot-by-plot approach. This musical score gave rise to wines with diverse aromatic expressions.

Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition is a blend of 195 wines from 12 different years, a full orchestra of 195 musicians from 12 different years, with the youngest from 2014. The older and more mature musicians – some of them dating back to 1998 – have been rehearsing in Krug’s cellars over all these years, gaining in depth and resonance.

Its final composition is 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 11% Meunier. Reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 45% of the final blend. The Édition achieved its remarkable expression and elegance over a stay of around seven years in the cellars, and overall, it took 24 years of careful craftsmanship for the 170th re-creation of the most generous expression of Champagne.

At first sight, the light golden colour with fine, vivacious bubbles holds a promise of pleasure. On the nose are the aromas of flowers in full bloom and ripe, dried, and citrus fruits, gingerbread and marzipan. The palate displays an alluring combination of honey, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, hazelnut, brioche, and almonds.

The Champagne is ideal as an aperitif, paired with Jabugo ham and mature Comté, or served to accompany seafood, Indian or Moroccan food, and desserts such as carrot cake, and Tarte Tatin and cheesecake.

The Krug Rosé 26ème Édition is a blend of 28 wines from 7 different years, the youngest from 2014 and the oldest from 2005. Its final composition is 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 26% Meunier. Unexpectedly, it best accompanies very savoury dishes – best enjoyed with foie gras, lamb, game, white meat, venison or dishes with spices.

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