The Ultimate Champagne Experience | Ruinart followed by Krug

I thought I knew about Champagne but a two day trip to the region this week changed my whole perception.  After two decades of working with wine, I had never before visited Champagne but what better way to rectify that than with appointments at Ruinart and Krug.  

At Ruinart, we were warmly welcomed into Champagne's oldest house.  Dom Ruinart was a contemporary and acquaintance of the man credited with creating the first Champagne, Dom Perignon.  Our visit started with a tour of one of their three levels of underground crayères.  As we descended their depths, the drop in temperature was profound. Upon entering the first chamber, words failed me; to call this awe-inspiring would be a gross understatement.  The vast chambers have shafts reaching vertically towards the surface far above, often exiting in someone’s back garden; therefore the tunnels are owned quite independently of whoever owns the property or land above.

Resurfacing, we embarked on a tasting of the range.  Our group favoured the oh so drinkable Blanc de Blancs and the exceptionally promising 2002, which is clearly destined to age wonderfully for the next 10-15 years plus. 

Over dinner my first preconception was altered; rosé Champagne turns out to be a terrific combination with red meat but is best avoided with desserts!  Who'd have thought it?  Peking duck in caramel Soy was a hit with the 1998 and 1996 Dom Ruinart Rosés.  The greatest treat, however, was a bottle of hedonistically rich and complex 1990, courtesy of Ruinart's Chef de Caves Frédéric Panaiotis, who took time out from a hectic day's harvest to join us late in the evening.  

We left Ruinart with the impression that things could hardly get better but a whole new experience awaited us the next day.  After a whistle-stop tour around the spectacular Reims Cathedral, we were chauffeured off to another of the grandest names in Champagne.  Krug has always epitomised the very pinnacle of Champagne grandeur for me so I had been eagerly awaiting the moment we stepped inside this hallowed ground and accepted our first glass of the Grande Cuvée.

I was aware that Krug are proud to consider their Grand Cuvée to be the fundamental expression of the Champagne they produce but I have to admit I was a little sceptical.  Like most Champagne lovers, I have learnt to appreciate the great single vintages of most Champagne houses as being their superior bottlings; the idea that a blend of vintages could become greater than the sum of its parts was something I was not anticipating.  I was about to have my second preconception debunked.

We were served the 2000 Vintage Krug, followed by the 1998 and lastly the current release of Grande Cuvée, which we were encouraged to consider not so much a ‘non-vintage’ as ‘multi-vintage’.  The 2000 contains an unusual amount of Chardonnay for Krug, which emphasises elegance and purity, where the 1998 is more typically powerful and rich.  What was really fascinating, though, was to then taste the Grande Cuvée, which brought to mind a hypothetical blend of the two vintages.  And so, I discovered the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  

Following this revelation, we adjourned to a lunch that would not have shamed a Michelin Starred restaurant, in the dining room of the former Krug family residence.  A variety of treats unfolded; not least of which was an aged example of Grand Cuvée and so a third revelation.  This multi-vintage wine clearly benefits from ageing in a manner one would not expect of most non-vintage Champagnes.  Dubbed the ‘Richesse’, this release of Grand Cuvée was bottled in 2000 and as the name implies, exhibits extraordinary richness and demonstrates quite convincingly why Krug maintain the Grand Cuvée as their flagship. Whilst, the particular character of an individual vintage is a fascinating thing to appreciate and in great years clearly deserves to be captured, the philosophy of constructing a multi-vintage blend from something like 140 reserve wines is a truly astonishing feat.

By Simon Quinn - BWI