Champagne Greatness: 2002 Salon & White Label Krug - Private Host

Oh boy do we have a treat here with some real unicorn bottles! Our Krug is from the 70s or 80s based on the label design, a truly rare find with not many of these older bottles remaining. The 2002 Salon is also hard to find, as it is one of the best champagnes ever produced, a truly sought after bottle.

We will enjoy a 3 oz pour of each champagne, along with a multicourse meal. Guests are encouraged to bring a bottle to share with the group if they desire to, this is not a requirement.

N.V. Krug Grande Cuvée | Vivino US

2002 Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs (Cuvée S) Brut Champagne | Vivino US

The menu may be subject to change, but the current plan is:

Appetizer

Gruyère Gougères with Herbed Crème Fraîche

Main

Coq au Champagne

Dessert

Classic Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Crème Chantilly

Salon is one of the most prestigious houses in Champagne. Instead of making a range of styles that includes a prestige cuvée like most Champagne houses, Salon makes a single prestige cuvée, which is made entirely from Chardonnay from the village Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

The house was founded in 1911 by Eugène-Aimé Salon, who thought that Champagne was overly dominated by heavy Pinot Noir. Consequently, Salon decided to make a top Chardonnay-based label instead.
Today Salon is made in only the best vintages. The wine comes from a one-hectare (2.5 acre) parcel owned by Salon and 19 smaller parcels cultivated through agreements with various growers in the Grand Cru-classified Le Mesnil.

In years deemed not good enough, the grapes and wine production are diverted to become a part of the Champagne Delamotte label.
Salon is held back in cellar for much longer than other Champagnes – it can spend up to a decade in bottle before it is released onto the market, and can be cellared further.

Krug is one of Champagne's most prestigious houses and its wines are among the most collectible and expensive in Champagne. The house was founded in 1843 by Joseph Krug, a native of the Mosel region in Germany, who had moved to France and spent some time working for Jacquesson, the leading Champagne house of the time.
Krug's philosophy was that every Champagne should be the best possible expression, and eschewed the common idea of a hierarchy of Champagne. Instead, he began to craft a premium wine from a reserve of wines vinified separately by the growers themselves, a wine that would eventually become the Grande Cuvée.

This wine sits alongside the likes of Dom Pérignon and Cristal at the top of the Champagne tree, and is a blend of 120 different wines from 10 or more vintages from the so-called Krug Library (a repository of still wines held prior to blending and refermenting in bottle). It is aged for six years, and is noted for its complex brioche and spice characters.
Today, the wines are still vinified by individual plot, and are stored in the Krug Library. Every year, the chef de cave heads a tasting committee which decides on the final blend.

This library holds reserve wines anywhere from the current vintage to those 50 years old and are produced from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, which are all grown at Krug and used throughout the collection.

The cost of the event is $300 and all guests must prepay to reserve their seat. Once paid, no refunds will be given but you can have somebody else come in your place.

*Disclaimer* Vintage wine is finicky even with perfect provenance and the Krug may not be drinking well. If the unfortunate occurs, I will have another excellent wine on hand to soften the blow!