Krug Champagne dinner

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I went to a dinner for Krug Champagne the other day, organized by a local wine merchant. Interestingly the venue was Dynasty, a Cantonese restaurant which I haven't been to in quite a while, and I eagerly anticipated the pairing of Champagne with Chinese food.

Dinner was the typical banquet menu, with the usual shark's fin (which I gave up to someone else at the table), abalone (which was done very nicely)...and it actually worked well with the champagne.

Before dinner, as well as during the first few courses, we taste the Krug Grand Cuvee, which was the non-vintage blend of the house. This has not only long been my favorite NV Champagne, but often my favorite offering from Krug. It is simply smooth and delicious. I'd be content if I could drink this daily.

The next offering was the highly-acclaimed Krug Vintage 1996. 1996 is probably the best Champagne vintage in the last 20 years or so, and the '96 has just been rated by Wine Spectator at 99 points and #10 of their Top 100 Wines of 2007 (literally just the day before the dinner). Anticipation was high as the golden liquid was poured into a glass that was smaller than our previous flute. This was met with protests from people at our table, and we proceeded to get ourselves a quick top-up.

Honestly, I thought that the nose of the '96 was very complex, and it would no doubt be a star. However, the acidity was quite sharp, especially on the finish. Clearly this is a wine that needs more time to age and is not really suited for drinking today. Better get my hands on some as people have been snapping it up.

The last wine was the Krug Rose. Roses are always nice and easy to drink, and this one is no exception. We had lots of refills of the wine, and they started bringing out half bottles of it which supposedly are only available in 5 cities across the globe (excluding Paris). Very yummy. Very enjoyable. Very drunk.