Krug Champagne Grande Cuvee Brut Rose 26eme Edition NV 750ml

Based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by some 33% reserve wines from six other vintages, Krug's new NV Brut Rosé 26ème Édition is showing beautifully, offering up aromas of tart red berries and plums mingled with notions of warm biscuits, dried fruits, flowers and orange zest. Medium to full-bodied, taut and incisive, with terrific concentration, racy acids and a long, penetrating finish, it's an intensely flavored, electric wine that stands out as a particularly good recent release from this storied house.

An exotic, bright and freshly crushed raspberry nose, which persists. Icing sugar and cracked cashews. A gorgeous cascade of stewed fruits, spice and rhubarb in the mouth. An exhilarating and fine wine. A fruit lolly note, but refined and smokily luxurious too. Red wine from different plots in Aÿ, Bouzy and Mareuil-sur-Ay. The rosés are selected from more mature fruit and therefore need fewer components to express the priority of pure berry intensity. Candy and sweet notes on the end. Main harvest: 2014. 35% reserves. Aged for almost seven years on lees. 11% red wine used in the blend. Disgorged: Early 2021.

Like an orchard on a warm day, this leads with enticing floral and ripe fruit aromas. On the satiny palate, flavors of baked nectarine, white cherry and raspberry are pure and juicy, layered with rich notes of chopped macadamia nut and brioche, pickled ginger and candied blood orange peel, lime blossoms and chamomile. Finely tuned and harmonious, this is a mouthwatering version, with the flavor range expanding through to the long, lasting finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Drink now through 2027.

Aromas of fresh strawberries, strawberry tarts and candied lemons. Medium body with lightly chewy tannins and a tannic undertone to the fruit and brightness. Tight and slightly lean now. Dry at the end. Drink now.

The NV Rosé 26ème Édition (base 2014) is terrific, but it also needs time. Chalk, white pepper, mint and bright red-toned fruit take shape in this especially vibrant, crystalline edition of the Krug Rosé. Bright saline notes extend the sculpted finish. The blend is 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 26% Meunier, based on 2014 with reserve wines back to 2005. Disgorged: Winter 2020-2021. Krug ID: 121022.

A deep color and a mix of freshness and richness give this iconic Champagne a complexity that is rare. Its texture, orange zest and red-currant fruits are impressively integrated in a wine that demands food when drunk.

Krug Rosé 26ème Édition was composed around the harvest of 2014, an erratic year that oscillated between hot dry spells, and cool rainy periods. Vines developed under good conditions, ensuring a generous, high quality harvest. The contrasting weather preserved freshness and resulted in great heterogeneity throughout the region, underscoring the importance of the House’s plot-by-plot approach. Each year, to re-create the dream of the fifth generation of the Krug family of an unexpected, bold and elegant rosé Champagne, the House starts by identifying plots’ wines from the current and previous years that will together convey all possible types of fruit expression. This composition then embraces a traditionally macerated red Pinot Noir, which adds spiciness, colour and structure. Krug Rosé 26ème Édition is thus the result of complementing the selected plots’ wines of the year with reserve wines from 6 other years. Reserve Chardonnay plot’s wines from the 2006 harvest bring roundness and unctuousness to this Édition of Krug Rosé, while a red Pinot Noir wine of the year blended from plots in Aÿ and Taissy completed the creation. It is the 26th time this dream has been re-created. In all, reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 33% of the final blend of this Édition of Krug Rosé. The final composition of this Édition of Krug Rosé is 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 26% Meunier. The most non-conformist of Krug Champagnes, Krug Rosé is for bold gastronomic adventures. Combining breadth, depth and grace, it is a perfect tango with savoury dishes of all kinds, replacing a good red wine at the table with brio. It can be enjoyed with foie gras, lamb, game, white meat, venison or even dishes with spices.