Krug Clos Du Mesnil 2003 vintage released

The House of Krug has released of a new vintage of its rare single vineyard cuvée, the Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003. The wine is sourced from a single walled plot in one of the greatest terroirs in Champagne, from a single grape variety, and a single year. It is the first new vintage of this cuvée since the 2000.

The exceptional Clos du Mesnil terroir within the 1.8 hectare vineyard of Clos du Mesnil has been protected by walls since 1698 and is located in the heart of Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the most renowned villages for Chardonnay in the Champagne region.

Krug Clos du Mesnil is an exceptionally rare cuvée, with around 10,000 bottles released every three to four years, and only when the indulgence of the year succeeds in fully expressing the potential of the plot. With just 8671 75cl bottles and 659 magnums produced from the 2003 vintage, this marks one of the smallest releases in this cuvée’s history.

The House of Krug chose to create Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003 having noted that from the very first tastings of the Chardonnay grapes from that year’s harvest, they were already revealing and expressive and balanced character without any excess aromatic intensity. The 2003 vintage was characterised by its dramatic climate of extremes. The winter and spring were very dry with an early flowering period followed by two strong frosts that engendered a significant loss of Chardonnay grapes. A very hot summer followed, with record temperatures in August of an average of 28.5°C – more than 10°C above the norm for this time of year.

Protected by its walls and privileged by sun exposure, the harvest in Krug’s Clos du Mesnil started prematurely on August 23rd, the earliest harvest since 1822. As a consequence of the extreme climatic conditions, there was a very low yield in Krug’s Clos du Mesnil vineyard and the Chardonnay grapes harvested glowed with a rare health and beauty.

Eric Lebel, Krug chef de cave says “The unique location of Krug’s Clos du Mesnil, the decision to harvest the Clos at its optimal moment and the House obsession with detail helped combine a great aromatic expression and richness with freshness, length, precision and the finesse so characteristic of Krug Clos du Mesnil.” 

28 July 2014 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor