First Taste: Krug 2011 vintage release

Champagne’s great houses are often accused of playing it safe, yet Krug begs to differ: the house has gone where few others have ventured, having chosen to celebrate the unusual 2011 growing season with a vintage release.

As cellar master Julie Cavil explains, though, the reputation of the year – or the season’s trials and tribulations on paper – counts for nothing when it comes to deciding on whether to release a vintage or to blend the wines with other years (as with the house’s flagship Grande Cuvée).

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Krug 2011 and four other cuvées tasted

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