The 2008 Vintage is a nervy, electrifying Champagne, the likes of which has not emerged from Krug's cellars since the magical 1996. Bright and sculpted, with tremendous precision, the 2008 dazzles from start to finish. Stylistically, the 2008 doesn't have the toastiness or explosive breadth often found in young Krug, but that in no way detracts from its magnificent beauty. Krug ID: 419044.
Since I reviewed the Krug 2008 Brut last year, I have drunk the wine on five or six occasions, but I still struggle to understand it. This bottle, tasted at the cellars in Reims, was among the best I've encountered to date; but between the chiseled muscularity of the Clos du Mesnil and the complexity and plenitude of the 164ème Édition of Grande Cuvée, the vintage itself simply seems less compelling and complete. Offering up aromas of citrus oil, freshly baked bread, orange zest, dried white flowers and a discreet hint of buttered toast, it's medium to full-bodied, racy and saline, with a pretty pinpoint mousse and a tightly wound core. Will it unfurl with time to reveal more mid-palate volume and authority, or will it remain a comparatively lean, understated vintage for Krug? As ever, time will tell, and given the house's track record I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see the 2008 take flight with more time on cork.
This is very structured and framed with an almost red sensibility. Very phenolic. Full-bodied in a tightly wound ball with so much going on. Very pinot like. Mineral and stone. Shell and stone. Iodine. Vinous. The bubbles just fade into the finish of the wine, which goes on for minutes. Turns to toffee and salted caramel with time in the glass. One for the cellar. Great length. Blend of 53% pinot noir, 25% pinot meunier, 22% chardonnay. Disgorged in beginning of 2020. Drink or hold.
Krug's 2008 Brut is slated to be released at the end of 2021, but any readers who purchase the wine will need to exercise considerably more patience if they are to enjoy it in its prime, as it is very tightly wound out of the gates. Unwinding in the glass with a youthfully discreet bouquet of clear honey, dried fruit, walnut oil, Meyer lemon and rock salt, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and incisive, with a racy spine of acidity, a pretty pinpoint mousse and a penetrating, saline finish. The polar stylistic opposite of the rich, demonstrative 2006, the 2008 is a rather understated, taut vintage from Krug that isn't as liberally endowed with the house's characteristic toasty patina as its immediate predecessor.
