2003 Krug Vintage Brut

Light yellow. Powerful, complex bouquet evokes fresh peach, pear, floral honey, green almond and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and orchard fruit flavors show outstanding vivacity for a hot vintage, picking up ginger and talc notes with air. The strikingly long, sappy finish features zesty orange pith, smoky minerals and an echo of honeysuckle. I'd be in no rush to drink this one. Speaking of waiting, I had the chance to revisit the 2000 Vintage Krug and it has begun to pick up the smoky, weighty and nutty character that long-time fans of this producer crave. It's still plenty young but already unmistakably Krug, with a chewy texture and a sexy floral nuance dominating right now.

Soft, supple and delicate in the glass, the 2003 Vintage is super expressive today. Smoke, brioche, apple tart and spice notes flesh out in a resonant, impeccably layered Champagne loaded with personality. I can't think of a young Krug Champagne that delivers this much pure pleasure at such a young stage in its life. The 2003 has developed nicely since I last tasted it about six months ago. This is class personified.

Krug has done a terrific job with their 2003 Vintage. Warm, richly oxidative Krug signatures wrap around the palate in a textured, inviting Champagne endowed with tons of pure class, something that is especially evident on the finish, which is as sexy as it gets. In this vintage, Chef de Caves Eric Lebel bumped up the percentage of Meunier to give the wine as much freshness as possible. One of the challenges with Krug Vintages is that the wines are never ready to drink when they are released, something that has been true for as long as I can remember. That won't be an issue with the 2003, which is absolutely gorgeous today. I tasted the 2003 twice about a month apart. Those tastings suggest the 2003 won't be a long-lived Champagne by the standards of Krug, one of Champagne's most historic, iconic houses. I would choose to drink the 2003 ahead of any other Krug vintage back to the late 1980s. The 2003 is 46% Pinot Noir, 29% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Meunier. ID Code 113015.