1988 Krug Collection

The 1988 Krug Collection, a 2017 disgorgement, offers an enticing bouquet of grilled walnut, baked bread and a touch of freshly baked gingerbread on the nose, displaying exquisite delineation and focus. A tang of bitterness on the entry refreshes the senses. This champagne is impressive in terms of depth and salinity. Vibrant and bright, it conveys a sense of completeness, so that you can’t help coming back for just one more sip. At its peak? Probably.

I have always very much admired the '88 vintage in Champagne because it produced wines that tended toward austerity when they were young and they have aged exceptionally well. The nose here is consistent with this because even though it is fully mature and highly complex, there is a certain calm restraint that accompanies the attractively fresh citrus, cooked apple and toasted bread elements. There is equally good punch and freshness to the powerful and concentrated flavors that possess impressive mid-palate density before concluding in a mouth coating and strikingly long finish. One thing that the '88 Krug is not however is especially refined and in this regard the '85 is finer. In Champagne though rarely is one element able to exist in isolation from another and in terms of potential longevity, at this point I would rather own the '88 than the '85 even if the '85 is a better overall wine. I say this because the '85 appears to be on the edge of a graceful decline whereas the '88 should continue to hold for years to come.