The 2004 Krug remains one of the most beautiful young vintages of this bottling to be released in quite some time. It does not have the power and sternness of structure of the titan that is the 2002, nor the shimmering...
The 2004 Krug remains one of the most beautiful young vintages of this bottling to be released in quite some time. It does not have the power and sternness of structure of the titan that is the 2002, nor the shimmering generosity of the 2003, but it is a great, great classic in the making that already exudes the depth and refinement that is vintage Krug in the finest years. As I mentioned last year, the wine is composed of a blend of thirty-nine percent chardonnay, thirty-seven percent pinot noir and twenty-four percent pinot meunier, with this particular bottle having been disgorged three months later than the last one I tasted, in the summer of 2016. The nose offers up a stunning constellation of apple, pear, a very complex base of soil tones, lovey smokiness, caraway seed, spring flowers, incipient notes of orange zest and a lovely touch of almond in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, focused and full-bodied, with a rock solid core, superb complexity and grip and a very, very long, vibrant and seamless finish. This will be at its true apogee fifteen to twenty years from now, but I wonder how many bottles will survive to that point, as it is a breathtakingly beautiful glass of bubbly already!