Krug Proves It's Worth as the World's Most Expensive Champagne

The Krug family always had their own thoughts on what made good champagne and they weren't influenced by what others were doing. That hasn't changed in the two centuries since Johann-Joseph Krug founded the winery in 1843.

Even though the company is now owned by Moet-Hennessy under the LVMH group, six generations of the Krug family have kept the tradition going, making sure only the finest of the champagne grapes - chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier - are used in their blends. They also make sure that the wines are fermented in small oak barrels and then bottle aged gracefully for six to eight years. That is the basic plan of Krug, but it doesn't begin to explain what goes in each bottle to make it worthy of the high price. A bottle will cost you upwards of $175, depending on the year and the blend.

Regardless of who is at the helm of Krug the traditions do not change. Every spot in every vineyard is tasted throughout its aging. It is noted for its sunlight, its wind, whether it is down sloping or on a hill. It is replanted if necessary and it is never taken for granted. By the time the maximum of 500,000 bottles are finished each year, there have been 950 tastings by the winemaker and her staff!

The king of the Krug champagnes is Krug Grand Cuvee. It is the signature of what defines this champagne house and must be made up of only great grapes - no matter how many it takes. This champagne doesn't bear a year because it is blended with as many as 150 different wines that could be from many different years. It is much more complex than any of their other products and as delicious as you expect from champagne of this caliber. The yeast is always kept at natural temperature. It will be aged the Krug minimum of six years.

Other Krug champagnes receive nearly as much attention. The Krug Clos du Mesnil is made from 100% chardonnay and gets its toasty flavor from two to three months in barrels and 10 years in casks. It also enjoys the vineyard the family purchased in 1971 because it was known for its chardonnay, with its mineral accents. Each plot in this vineyard had been separated and each plot treated as a different wine, until there were over 200 wines to perfectly blend into Krug Clos du Mesnil.

The Krug Vintage Brut 1998 is a great year and the final release of the 1990s. It includes all three varieties of champagne grapes to give it a sweeter more rounded dimension. Krug's winemaker Julie Cavil won't identify what percentage of each grape she used, but does say that she will not use a grape as a Vintage Brut if it isn't worthy (2009, for example, was not).

The smell of the casks permeate the air as you walk through the Krug warehouse. Freshness is a key here and every cask of wine is checked every day to make sure it is still good. Patience is what Krug is about and they will wait the process out until they can pop the cork on this fine champagne.

For more information on the champagnes of Krug or setting up a visit at their Champagne, France, winery, go to their website.