2008 Champagne "Clos du Mesnil"

Krug’s 2008 Clos du Mesnil, tasted from two bottles, is a very, very special Champagne. Soaring aromatics, fine, chiseled fruit and understated depth are the signatures of a Champagne that is immediately captivating. Bright, salivating acids run through a core of citrus fruit, lemon oil, slate, chalk, mint and white pepper. A touch of reduction and a superb, fine mousse move the 2008 into a realm that straddles Champagne and a distinctly Burgundian expression of Chardonnay. The 2008 is going to be expensive, and I am already hearing that allocations will be miniscule. For readers who can find it, the 2008 is an essential Clos du Mesnil that will take its place among the greatest vintages made here, specifically the 1979, 1988 and 1996. If anyone wants to organize a comparative tasting of the four, plus maybe the 2004, I’m game! The 2008 Clos du Mesnil is a magnificent Champagne to savor over the next several decades.

- Antonio Galloni (05/2022)

This is a powerful, sensual and intense Blanc de Blancs with lots of chalk, lemon, apricot stone, walnut, flint, biscuit, toast, white grapefruit and quince. Vibrant. tight and structured. Tight bubbles and a sharp backbone of acidity. Very long and persistent. Keeps going. Still a baby. Dosage 4g/L. Drink or hold. (06/2022)

A harmonious Champagne that marries the power and grace of a prima ballerina. Delivers a racy streak of acidity that's effortlessly knit to the layered range of tangerine, madeleine cake, dried mint and white blossoms, pink grapefruit sorbet and crushed hazelnut and almond notes. Finely detailed in texture -- almost luxuriously creamy -- echoing a pronounced note of salty minerality on the finish. Disgorged summer 2021. Drink now through 2038.

- A.N.

Once again, the 2008 Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil is performing well today. Offering up a complex, dense and delicately spicy bouquet of citrus oil, hazelnuts, marzipan, pastry, ripe apricot and confit citrus, it's full-bodied, perfectly balanced and layered, with a crystalline, chiseled texture framed by racy acids, leading to a long, mineral and lovely iodine-inflected finish. Despite its austerity and structure, this Chardonnay, entirely sourced from Mesnil-sur-Oger, possesses a charming character that promises to age gracefully for 20-30 years.

- Yohan Castaing (10/2024)