Krug, Vintage, Brut , 2006

This venerable house, under the expert guidance of Cellar Master Eric Lebel, seems incapable of releasing a bad wine. Today’s 2006 follows the much loved 2004 and paints a picture of a very different growing season, the cool restraint of 2004 giving way to the rich, caressing generosity of 2006. Tasting it earlier in the week our sense was that it looks a little like a young blend of the 1989 and 1990 vintages; it possesses a muscularity and intensity as the concentrated fruit fans out across the palate, yet finishes on freshness and salinity. It’s hard not to love… With a complex and expressive bouquet of tarte tatin, warm biscuits, ginger, honeycomb, dried white flowers, smoke and toasted nuts. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and textural, with a fleshy attack that reflects the warm vintage but segues into a beautifully vibrant palate that's deep and surprisingly reserved, displaying superb definition, delicately chalky structure and a long, lively finish. While this is a powerful vintage Krug, it's also beautifully balanced and will give immense pleasure for decades. The blend for the 2006 is made up of 48% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Meunier, it has spent 12 years sur lie in the Krug cellars before release.