Vintage Brut 2008

The wine in this vintage

A cool, late vintage of extraordinary purity, 2008 is regarded as one of Champagne's great classic harvests, with wines of very high acidity and exceptional ageing potential. Krug Vintage 2008 offers a taut, crystalline reading of it: lemon, grapefruit, green apple, white flowers, chalk and a hint of toast, with a vertical, very fine palate, a silky mousse and a saline, persistent finish. Wine Spectator rated it 99 points and Jancis Robinson 18/20. The 2008 is enjoyable now but still at the beginning of its arc: its energy and precision promise a very long evolution, and those who wait will see it gain new layers of brioche, dried fruit and honey year after year.

The producer · Krug

Founded in Reims in 1843 by Joseph Krug, the house was built on an idea as simple as it was radical: to craft the finest Champagne possible every single year, regardless of the vagaries of the weather. That vision gave rise to Grande Cuvée, a blend of more than a hundred wines from different years and plots, drawn from one of the largest libraries of reserve wines in Champagne. Every plot is vinified separately in small, well-seasoned oak casks that let the wine breathe without marking it with wood, and time on the lees is among the longest in the region. Alongside its blends, Krug produces two legendary single-plot wines: Clos du Mesnil, a walled Chardonnay vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Clos d'Ambonnay, a tiny walled parcel of Pinot Noir. Now part of LVMH yet still shaped by the Krug family and its winemaking team, the house remains the benchmark for anyone who looks to Champagne for the depth, complexity and longevity of a truly great wine.

Critics' scores

• 99 Wine Spectator
• 97 Wine Enthusiast
• 18/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Krug

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

2008

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

98/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0610308