樂活酒窖 La Vie Wine

A blend of 40% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 21% Pinot Meunier from a warm, dry, generous, homogenous year, with 11 years' ageing on the lees. This was tasted immediately after Krug 2003 and was so much more discreet and savoury than the 2003 on the nose. It is chock-full of acidity and life, is really muscular and much more intellectual. For the moment the 2002 is less obviously fruity than the 2003 - clearly a champagne for long ageing - like many other 2002s - but much more backward than any I can think of immediately. There is nothing in excess; a great example of the Krug art of assemblage. Very solid and concentrated but not heavy at all. The finish is notably dry. This may be an intellectual wine but it's certainly not hard work! For Julie Cavil of the Krug blending team, this wine is 'a racehorse'. 'You were still riding regularly then', winemaker Eric Lebel reminds her with a smile. For them '2002 is about the generosity of Nature. We had to work hard to limit the yield a bit. There was lots of richness in the base wines; each sample had great generosity'. I look forward very much to following the development of this exceptional wine.

Score: 19

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, January 2016