Thanks to Johnny for sharing such exceptional champagne and nice photos!

Krug Clos du Mesnil 1992 Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne (750ml, bottle No. 00425)

Tasted in Oct, 2010

Truly great wines must have strong characters of their own: Krug Clos du Mesnil 1992 is one persuasive example. It strikes me most with its exceptional volume and vinosity, which proudly demonstrate the superiority of the microclimate within the Clos – even for 1992, a so-so vintage in Champagne.

Bright golden robe, with greenish hues and slow-rising fine bubbles.

The nose is focused and seamlessly fused, leisurely evolving with nuances of walnut oil, roasted coffee beans, chalk, sea breeze, toasted bread and honey… The distinct opening tone of walnut oil, the gradually intensifying chalky notes and then the seductive aromas of toasted bread and honey compose three truly memorable chapters of the aromatic splendor.

The taste is, at first, mellow and caressing. But then its hidden power of exceptional vinosity, walnutty depth and assertive chalky core soon catch up and make you submit to its authority. Intense and powerful, rich and even unctuous yet lifted without any heaviness. Flawless texture. Superb finesse.

Around 1 hour after uncorking, a new height of honeyed tenderness and sour-sweet, juicy balance is reached, making this exceptional wine journey complete and satisfying.

Last but not least, I have been eagerly awaiting the encounter with Clos du Mesnil 1992: Tom Stevenson once commented in Wine Report that he thinks Clos du Mesnil 1992 “is infinitely better than” Clos du Mesnil 1990, though 90 is a far more superior vintage theoretically. Now that I have tasted both 90 and 92 Clos du Mesnil, I am more than happy to agree with Tom – Clos du Mesnil 1990, as I tasted in Oct. 2007, was overripe and not clean on the palate.