Krug Champagne is a Champagne house founded by Joseph Krug in It is based principally in Reims , the main city in France's Champagne region and is one of the famous Champagne houses that formed part of the Grandes marques. Despite LVMH's majority ownership, the Krug family is still actively involved in all the key decisions of the house but does not manage the day-to-day operations. Joseph Krug founded the House of Krug in Having dispensed with the name Johann, he left Mainz in and by he was in Paris.
He spent eight years with Jacquesson, with his work taking him beyond accountancy as he went on the road around Europe testing the market and assessing criticism from wine sellers and customers. He learned about composition and taste so that by he already seems to have been blending Champagne for at least one other house. The following year their son, Paul Krug, was born.
Joseph was also fluent in French, English and German and spoke some Russian, putting the company in position to exploit key overseas markets. Joseph died in and was succeeded by his son Paul Krug, who had been trained by his father for the business in France and abroad. Joseph had laid the foundations and under the supervision of Paul the House was established as a grande marque.
By the s the prestige of Krug was acknowledged in the United Kingdom, then the primary overseas market for Champagne. After the war, Joseph II's slow recovery led to his nephew Jean Seydoux becoming joint manager in In that decade, too, the Krug and vintages were created, which have been considered by critics to be amongst the greatest Champagnes.
And Krug must be the best wine made in the present century. His father died in , by which time he was, according to Patrick Forbes, "one of the most popular and respected figures in the Champagne district". Their arrival was followed by a series of innovations, including extensions in the range of Champagnes. Henri Krug became president of the family company in In Olivier Krug, the son of Henri, became House director. In , Ryuchi Sakamoto released a symphony, "Suite for Krug in ", about his experiences tasting Krug champagne in On the nose, Krug is characterized by toasted, grilled, pastry or almond notes born from at least 6 years of ageing sur lies.
