Simon Field MW reviews 2013 Krug.
There is something gloriously unpredictable and therefore exciting about the release of a Krug Vintage. Rarity and the defiance of chronology heighten the excitement; no such wines were offered in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, or, perhaps most controversial, 2012. In addition, some great vintages were held back, 2008 and 1996 being good examples. I just about remember the debate that surrounded the inversion of the 1989 and 1988 releases, the latter delayed for several years yet ultimately proving to enjoy greater longevity, though this was far from an obvious outcome at the time. To this must be added the key fact that Krug has always focused on its lauded Edition Grande Cuvée series as primus inter pares, the number on each bottle directly linked to the base year in question. The superlative Edition 168, for example, is based on the low-yielding but otherwise outstanding 2012 vintage. It is easy to speculate that the wine would not have been quite as good had there been a Vintage release in tandem. One must, however, be wary of such apparently self-evident truths in the rarefied world of Champagne. Everything happens for a reason, so we are told.
No 2012 Krug, then. 2011, however, was released, the child of a conspicuously weaker yet more capacious year. Surely Krug’s policy is not dictated by the rigors of commercial expediency? Surely not. Most certainly not in the case of the outstanding 2013, scion of a late and classically sculpted season, described, rather beautifully, by chef de cave Julie Cavil as “fragrant citrus on a silver platter.” So, it’s a return to form, its qualitative signifiers cascading down the memory and recalling several of the great years mentioned above—2008, 1996, and 1988, in particular. It is possibly not whimsical to speculate that the rich and generous style of Krug, with its cushion of oak and its decade of repose on the lees, is actually better suited to cooler years, which subtly bolster the structure’s underlying acidity, in turn bestowing tension, purity, and the capacity to age. Indeed, 2013 was initially received with trepidation, its rainy spring and temperate mid-season all pushing the vines further and further toward the fall. The eventual harvest extended from September 25 until October 10, which was exceptionally late by modern standards—even more so when one considers the precocity of 2026, with all the fruit scheduled to be picked in August.
Therefore, 2013 was different and, as it turns out, rather special. The year marginally favored Chardonnay over Pinot Noir, the precision of fruit from grand cru villages such as Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger held in a pleasingly tense counterpoint to the more structured and restrained Pinot Noirs from, among august sites, Ambonnay and Aÿ. Pinot Meunier, always a key ingredient at Krug, makes up a far from insignificant 21% of the final blend, with the “specialist” Meunier villages of Ste-Gemme and Coulommes-la-Montagne both excelling. Julie praises the efforts of her extended team (known as the cercle des vignerons de Krug and said to take us on “a geographical journey in a glass”) and is keen to emphasize that, with a harvest a whole month later than in 2011, it is hardly surprising that the wines are different. The key, for Julie, is the citrus potential of the musts, rather than ripeness per se: idées reçues turned on their head by the climatic patterns. She describes the evolution of a Krug Champagne, interestingly, as “a sphere to be filled with verticality”—a fascinating concept, all the more so because, at first blush, it appears to defy intuition, which may suggest the reverse. Krug, for her, has no need to acquire more by way of poids lourd; time must chisel it, with Rodinesque rigor, into definitive shape. The work has now been largely completed after ten years of aging (disgorgement took place in the winter of 2024), but as with all great Krugs, there is plenty of time for further refinement and measured development.
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Tasting
The Mandarin Oriental, London; June 2026
2013 Krug (41% PN, 38% C, 21% PM; disgorged winter 2024; dosage 5g/l)
Intense nacreous gold; dignified, but with a vigorous and energetic mousse, proudly liberated after a decade under its first cork. Initially reticent, then conceding notes of roasted almond, flint, and quince, stately and unassuming. The palate plays out the harmonic interface between the higher citric notes and a bedrock of dried fruit and gently toasted brioche, a hint of brine invigorating the finish. The aromatic of pine nut, lemon oil, and limoncello bridges the structural gap and presages a harmonious development. The future can be partially inferred by tasting Edition 169, which has 2013 as its base year. Yet the 169, according to Julie, is marked out by a significant proportion of 2012 from the reserves and was disgorged three years earlier than its Vintage sibling. The citric leitmotif is clearly evidenced, therefore, but the richer, more honeyed style may not offer a reliable signpost for the 2013 itself. Two subtly different wines, then, which is as Julie would wish, and which is the main justification for the release of a Vintage wine in the first place. | 96–97
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