Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008 750mL with Gift Box

Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008 is the 20th release from the house's walled Chardonnay vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Made from a single cool year, it is lean, silky and citrus-led, and it comes in a gift box.

About This Champagne

2008 was the coolest Champagne season in 14 years and the least sunny in almost half a century, but it was steady, and the grapes ripened slowly with good freshness. Krug made both a Vintage and a Clos du Mesnil. The wine rested on its lees in Krug's cellars for 14 years or more and was corked in summer 2021. Cavil describes the wine as chiselled but inviting, with elegance and length.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Citrus, orange madeleine and light toast, with the Clos's cool menthol lift.
• Palate: Grapefruit peel and lemon, turning riper towards candied citrus and barley sugar, with a pleasant bitter edge.
• Finish: Silky, persistent and precise, drawn out on citrus zest.

Serving & Food

Open at 9 to 10°C and let it warm slowly in a tulip glass; it gains depth as it does. Drinking well now and built to age. Serve with halibut in lemon butter, a platter of raw oysters, or roast guinea fowl with fresh herbs.

How to Enjoy

Lovers of taut, high-acid blanc de blancs, or anyone wanting to compare the cool 2008 with the warmer 2006.

Product Details

About the Maison

What makes the Clos different from the rest of Le Mesnil is its setting. The vines sit right among the village houses, sheltered by the surrounding walls and buildings, which gives the plot its own small climate. Cellar master Julie Cavil points to that shelter and to picking on exactly the right day as the reasons the Clos keeps its fine, lacy freshness and length.

The team tastes the berries before harvest to decide timing, and the plot's wine is vinified and aged on its own. Krug regards a cool menthol note as the signature of this small plot.