Originally published on The Wine Gang’s website….

Amid the plethora of en primeur Burgundy events across London this week there was one noticeably different event taking place – the launch of Krug’s latest vintage, the 2002.

As many of you know, most (if not all) of the Champenois have long since released their vintage cuvée from this widely-lauded year and are now on their 2006 or younger wines, but then Krug is always one of the last to release vintages.

In typical Krug style a classy venue was chosen, although among the wine press fraternity it raised more than one eyebrow. It was in Shoreditch (shock, horror!) one of London’s hottest areas and a far cry from the usual Mayfair or central London locations of such launches. But that didn’t diminish it’s ooo and ahh factor, for the wooden and exposed brick interior of this private house with large open ceilings (think modern Swish chalet) on a courtyard just off Hackney Road was the last word in cool and in fact the venue where Jamie Oliver allegedly filmed his 15 Minute Meal series. For Krug though, it was festooned with garlands of flowers and leaves, as you can see below (apologies for ropey iPhone picture) it made for a pretty magical effect.

Anyhow, the wine! At the launch it was served alongside the 2003 which showed such a stark contrast with the 2002. The 2003 being upfront, offering immediate richness of toasty flavour, while the 2002, being more of a ‘normal’ year (i.e. without the heat of 2003) was more elegant and restrained, with Krug’s hallmark super-fine bubbles and a delicious lemon and orange peel freshness with layers of white spice and toast, and a very long finish. In my view it’s far more complex than the 2003.

Krug 2002 is 40% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay and 21% Pinot Meunier.

Eric Lebel, Krug’s chef du cave, who made a rare trip to London for the event, said: “2002 for us was a year of great homogeneity and balance. The weather was consistently warm and relatively dry – ideal conditions for maturation.”

Saying the wines showed their potential from the very beginning, Eric added: “As they continued to develop, we saw a remarkable finesse, finish and complexity too, it is almost as if each of the 2002 wines that we have chosen to compose Krug 2002 could be their own assemblage.”

Explaining the decision to hold back Krug 2002 to age an extra two years than is usual for this house, Eric concluded: “We act according to taste and taste alone. When we saw that the 2003 – which was more vivacious - reached maturity more quickly, it was an easy decision to launch it sooner.”

At the launch I enjoyed my glas of 2002 with a saffron risotto served out of a wheel of parmesan, which if nothing else showed just how robust the 2002 vintage is, even if when you taste it alone it has a beautiful lightness of touch.

And so was it worth the wait? Aboslutely. That said we do need to wait a liiiiittle bit longer, until 1st February to be precise, when it will be available in the following merchants: Berry Bros & Rudd, Bordeaux Index, Corney & Barrow, Far Vintners, Fine & Rare, Goedhuis & Co, Reid Wines, Hedonism Wines and Jeroboams.

Well it was a fun respite… And now back to the Burgundies…