Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 2008 is a blanc de noirs drawn from one small walled vineyard of Pinot Noir in the Grand Cru village of Ambonnay, from a single harvest. It is the seventh wine Krug has released from this plot since the first, made in 1995, and it comes presented in the house gift box.
About This Champagne
In 2008 the growing season ran without extremes, and the grapes matured slowly and evenly. The Clos d'Ambonnay fruit impressed the Tasting Committee enough that Krug made two wines from it that year: this blanc de noirs, and, for the first time in the house's history, a rosé from the same plot, the Clos d'Ambonnay Rosé 2008. This bottle is the white version, 100% Pinot Noir, vinified from the one plot and the one year. Cellar master Julie Cavil describes it in terms of grace and luminosity rather than sheer power.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Toasted caramel, cocoa and dark chocolate over ripe red apple, with a smoky edge as it warms.
- Palate: Round and full, Pinot Noir weight carried by a fine, persistent mousse, with caramelised apple, candied citrus and a soft lemon note.
- Finish: Very long and savoury, finishing dry with chalk, spice and a gentle bitterness.
Serving & Food
Serve at 10 to 12°C in a large white-wine glass or a Burgundy bowl, and give it time in the glass; a flute will hold it back. Krug suggests keeping it at that same temperature in storage. Pinot Noir of this depth handles meat: try roast pigeon, veal sweetbreads with morels, or a hard sheep's cheese such as Ossau-Iraty.
How to Enjoy
A milestone dinner where the bottle is the centrepiece, or a side-by-side tasting with Clos du Mesnil to compare Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Krug's two walled plots.
Product Details
Producer: Krug
Cuvée: Clos d'Ambonnay
Style: Blanc de noirs, 100% Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2008
Origin: Ambonnay Grand Cru, Champagne, France
Vineyard: Clos d'Ambonnay, walled plot of 0.68 hectares
Volume: 750mL
Presentation: Krug gift box
About the Maison
Ambonnay has supplied Pinot Noir to Krug since the house's earliest years, so when Rémi and Henri Krug, the fifth generation of the family, wanted a Pinot Noir counterpart to their Clos du Mesnil, they looked there. The search took seven years. In 1991 they found a walled plot on the edge of the village, on the south-eastern slope of the Montagne de Reims, enclosed since 1766 and covering just 0.68 hectares, about a third the size of Clos du Mesnil.
The family bought it in 1994 and made the first Clos d'Ambonnay from the 1995 harvest, keeping it quiet until its release in 2007. It is made only in years the Tasting Committee feels the plot's fruit can stand entirely on its own.