1988 Krug Vintage
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Tasting notes
Tasted alongside 1988 Salon, the 1988 Champagne Millésime pours a vibrant golden/yellow color and reveals notes of quince, preserved orange marmalade, custard, and toasted brioche. The palate is equally layered and full, retaining refreshing acidity, with a refined pillowy mousse, a long-lasting finish, and notes of marzipan through the back palate. It’s in a gorgeous spot, although I don’t see it improving further.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Krug's 1988 Brut has long numbered among my very favorite vintages for this house, with the best bottles flirting with a three-digit score. Offering up complex aromas of apricot, citrus oil, candied peal, toasted brioche and honeycomb, it's full-bodied, concentrated and incisive, with a deep, layered and tightly wound core, racy acids and a searingly chalky finish. If on release the 1988 got less attention than the more immediate, head-turning 1990 and 1989 vintages, with time it is proving itself the most serious of those three consecutive releases.
The 1988 Krug makes for a fabulous start. Tasted from a perfect bottle, the 1988 remains bright and focused, with all of the energy of this great vintage very much on display. Time has naturally softened some of the contours and added a good bit of nuance, but the 1988 Krug remains a Champagne of crystalline precision. I loved it.
The 1988 Krug Vintage is exceptionally beautiful. Bright, intense and pulsating with the signature energy of the vintage, the 1988 is a fabulous way to kick off the night and a terrific example of this wine. Hints of dried pear, smoke and slate add the closing shades of nuance. We are off to the races.
About the producer
Krug is a remarkable Champagne House which only makes prestige cuvées. The wines – with their distinctive rich, complex, oxidative style – are some of the region’s best.