Decanter readers put off financial worries for a brief moment at a grand dinner hosted by Decanter and Champagne Krug at the Dorchester Hotel earlier this week.
The dinner was hosted by Krug’s Directeur de la Maison Olivier Krug (pictured right). Created by Dorchester executive chef Henry Brosi, it featured an array of Krug vintages.
Starting off with Krug’s Grand Cuvée, guests were then treated to three of the four vintages produced by the house in the 1990s – the 1995, 96 and finally the just-released 1998.
The main course – Wagyu beef with ravioli with oxtail lyonnaise, poached foie gras, wild mushrooms and sauce Perigourdine – was taken with Château Leoville-Barton 1998, before Krug’s Rosé was unveiled for the dessert.
Leoville Barton was chosen by Krug to show a claret of the same year as Krug 98 and also in honour of Anthony Barton, a Decanter Man of the Year.
Krug declares a vintage only in the years that it considers to be of exceptional quality, and demonstrate ‘truly outstanding personality’.
Olivier Krug talked about the ‘pressures’ the house faced in the early 1990s, when it didn’t release a vintage for five years.
Brosi and Krug punctuated each course with a vivid and detailed description of its content.
Brosi, whose family ran a small restaurant situated in a German vineyard, treated guests to a tantalising teasing of the senses, which started with the presentation of a single leaf on each diner’s plate.
To looks of puzzled intrigue, Brosi invited guests to pinch their nose before first biting into the leaf – an exercise which conveyed none of its taste, before releasing one’s nostrils led to an explosion of Thai basil flavour.
Decanter publishing director Sarah Kemp said, ‘I have rarely seen Decanter readers so excited as when they saw the trio of Krug vintages in front of them. The Rosé – which went beautifully with a raspberry millefeuille brulée – was the surprise hit of the evening.’
Written by Guy Woodward
