Krug releases new vintage of Clos du Mesnil
Champagne house 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, what it describes as one of the greatest terroirs in Champagne, from a single grape variety, and a single year.
The Krug Clos du Mesnil 2003, the first new vintage of this cuvée since the 2000, is said to reveal the unique expression of the Chardonnay harvested from the Clos du Mesnil terroir in 2003.
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 a rare cuvée, with approximately 10,000 bottles released every three to four years, and only, the house says “when the indulgence of the year succeeds in fully expressing the potential of the plot”. With just 8,671 75cl bottles and 659 magnums produced from the 2003 vintage, this marks one of the smallest releases in this cuvée’s history.
Krug chef de cave Eric Lebel said: “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.”
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 heavy frosts that engendered a significant loss of Chardonnay grapes. A 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 nurtured by sun exposure, the harvest in Krug’s Clos du Mesnil started prematurely on August 23, 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.