A journey with KRUG

Monkey ding-dong-ing the door bell at the House of KRUG

to reach at the doorstep alone was like a dream come true

if u want a comparison, it's like visiting Madame Coco Chanel's apartment at Rue Cambon in Paris

as we drove pass the security check, my heart was thumping

are we really here? we are here????

didn't know pressing the door bell at KRUG on an early autumn morning could be so exciting

Moomba-ing Auggie the top KRUG merchant in Singapore arranged this appointment for us
he also happens to be KRUG's ambassador in Singapore

there's an under-stated painting with an alphabet K at the reception
sometimes simplicity is the key right?

we were invited to chill at the lounge area with actual books and notes from Johann Joseph Krug, its founder

KRUG was founded in 1843 and the name has it...it's German
hahaha so how did it end up in France?
Johann Joseph Krug was an immigrant from this town called Mainz in Germany
but it's pretty near to the region of Champagne so for him to migrate over wasn't that difficult I supposed

the famous deep-red cherry notebook
original notes on champagne making by Johann Joseph Krug
these notes were made for his son, who was then too young to take over the business

the notes were legacy of Johann Joseph Krug which he wished to pass on when his son grows up
such were the love of the father for his son


beautiful wine-wares *is there such word?* were already prepared on its coffee table for tasting
yeah it's never too early for champagne at any time of the day even if it means 10am
bcoz someone used to tell me, if u are having champagne in the morning....it's evening at another part of the world. So anytime is good to pop a bottle

We were welcomed with a bottle of Grand Cuvee and hostess Mylene
She has got such deep passion for the company that she works for...well who wouldn't?

I would kill for her job...tee hee hee

Mylene was showing us the plot of vineyard in Le Mesnil
that produce the famous KRUG Clos du Mesnil

"Is that all???? the size of my garden???"
Mylene: "Yes it's classified 100% grand cru....only 1.84 hectares"
Monkey looked at JS who in return gave me the O look in awe
yes we've been drinking something so rare and special from such a small plot
in my life so far..I've only had 2 bottles of Clos du Mesnil...we vow to live our lives where we gonna have many bottles to come :))))

the next level after Clos du Mesnil would be Clos d'Ambonnay
from vineyard this small --> 0.68 hectares
so far only 2 vintages have been released....1996 and 1998
that far fetched bottle has yet to arrive....but soon soon...
I am waiting for that day to open it. 

after enjoyed a bottle of Krug Grand Cuvee, we were lead to its production house
as the wooden door opened, the pang of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier hit my face
the smell~~~~~~
I wanna live here!!!!!

it's not really a huge place, afterall KRUG champagnes are rare and limited
Number 2 means harvested on the second semester
20 stands of number of barrels for this particular grape from a particular village

AY - town of Ay *the same town where Bollinger and Ayala came from*
notice the plate with barcode?
these guys take their barrels seriously

Some newer oak barrel has got the emblem of Krug house
Krug never use NEW NEW barrel bcoz it will then release too much of oak-iness to its wines
they want their champagne to release a sublime and noble palateMonkey u better not touch anything
our insurance cannot afford anything to happen here!!!!

soon we were lead down to its cave where all of its beautiful champagnes are blended and rested

errrr u better know your bearings and direction....don't wanna be lost down here
there isn't cellular service down here and the temperature is constantly 10 degrees C




the highly guarded treasure of Krug champagne house
stainless steel cask storing all the special vintages for blending in the future

blending a single bottle of Grand Cuvee takes about 10 or more vintages
some may reach a gap of 15 years in between
this give it the rich and full palate that we all enjoyed

oh damn everytime I open its entry level of Grand Cuvee now.....I'll think of all the hardwork and blending...each blending is an art...a craftmanship
the winemaker tasted different vines from different grapes from different villages to arrive to a very important decision - what do we blend today?

so with so many different type of vines in a bottle, how would you know what's inside?
hence starting from 2012....they have innovate something that's called the KRUG ID
every bottle has an ID with numbers....you now may go to their website, enter your bottle's KRUG ID and it will reveal which vintage were blended inside
clever right??

each bottle of KRUG will be kept down here to "rest" for another 6 years before being release...

as we walked, our minds were playing up with memories of us popping KRUG over the years
now we will pop them with appreciation, even if it's only a Grand Cuvee
*when are we popping that Clos d'Ambonnay???*

another real treasure of KRUG house
they managed to keep a museum of really old champagnes

during the World War most of "Treasures" and bottles were saved because Madame KRUG then used the property as a shelter place for children and it was spared from bombing
it was also during period of time, that Madame KRUG made the champagnes through letter she wrote for her husband who was jailed.

I really can't imagine how did she achieve it....
with tasting notes to her husband who's in jail, and him writing to her in return on what to improve on

When I said OLD...it's really old 
with champagnes dating back to 1880
see anything u like there???


after the cellar visit, we were lead back to daylight in a tasting room
I was given a deep-red cherry notebook myself...so I can write my tasting notes just like Joseph KRUG
:)))))))))))))

JS had his fav color - olive green

we had another bottle of Grand Cuvee
served at a temperature of 14 degrees C
if it's too cold, u won't be able to taste its robust generosity palate of a KRUG

we also had a degustation of Vintage-d Krug

Hobbits agreed, it's one of the best champagne house in the worldLife is too short, nothing less than a KRUG

discussing wine notes hence the serious face
I guess most champagnes and wines aged so much more once it arrived in our part of the world due to logistics and travel.
the wines and champagnes here tasted much more fresher

I dunno he was cold or wat? must be under-dressed
we ended our journey with a deeper appreciation towards KRUG house and also champagne making through blending

and also a pic with Johann Joseph KRUG
tee hee hee
:)))))))))))

Big thank you to Moomba-ing Auggie for arranging this for not anyone would have such privilege to be invited to the house of KRUG

for more information:

www.KRUG.com