Krug 2008

There cannot be any doubt – certainly after when the wines are released – that 2008 and 2002 are two of the greatest vintages Champagne has produced.

Over the last few years, some winemakers have been voicing greater and greater regard for the younger champagne.

Comparing two wines six years apart is never easy, certainly not an exact science.

Who among us can truly tell – tasting 2008 and 2002 now – that in six years’ time 2008 will be better than how 2002 tastes at the moment?

It is a conjecture arrived at by mixing the present impression with a dose of projection. Into the future. Perhaps, more like, unknown.

What, however, is obvious, is the unmistakable presence of all the qualities needed for a champagne to attain greatness in 2008.

Fully ripened grapes from the different varieties of that harvest possessed exceptional phenolics. So too acidity, not green and sour but lifted, vital, intense, supercharged freshness.

Here, then, is the added piece of evidence that 2008 may ultimately outfox 2002.

As stunning as 2002 is already, 2008 seems to possess even more energy than its older brother.

Krug 2008

Incredible intensity of pent-up zesty fruit and freshness that is unshakeable, unforgiving and relentless. I don’t remember ever tasting champagnes from the 2002 vintage of about the same age being still so wound-up, taut, and tensioned. Then again, this is Krug. A wine to span two generations!!