Do you feel a kinship with the House of Krug?
Most definitely. The House of Krug is committed to offering the highest quality in every bottle it presents. Honouring heritage and valuing the Krug Lover, each Krug experience speaks to the senses. This is exactly how I approach my Music. Each song or album must translate a story into a sensory experience. I feel connected to the Krug winemakers and identify with the way they start with a blank page for each cuvée and re-create every Édition anew, always raising the bar of what Champagne can be.
What is your ideal moment to enjoy Krug Champagne?
Any moment that is worth sharing. I live by the ocean, so I often have friends over during the summer. The best times are when we get together at sunset, stay outside until late and just enjoying each other’s company. There is no better way to celebrate those moments than with a glass of Krug.
What is your favourite Krug Champagne?
My favourite would have to be Krug Rosé, the most daring, non-conformist of Krug Champagnes. When I first tasted it, I was completely surprised that this Rosé Champagne could replace a good red wine at the table.
Can you explain the Music Pairing you have composed for each Krug Champagne?
With my echo of Krug Clos du Mesnil 2004, I sought to express the agility and elegance of this Champagne. We begin with energetic strings – precise and deliberate like the Champagne itself. They move you in a pleasing way that is pure and scintillating. The undertones of complementary notes are my way of conveying how a single grape from a single plot and single harvest year can have such a complete and satisfying expression. The higher-pitched sounds echo the Champagne’s freshness while the lower and slower tonalities evoke its elegance on the palate, the pleasurable juncture of balance and tension. This Music Pairing is high-energy, as I feel Krug Clos du Mesnil 2004 is a dynamic Champagne of contemplation: it has a story to tell that will continue to evolve over time.
For Krug 2004, my piece begins with soft, decisive sounds and echoes that reflect the chill start to the growing season. The crisp and soothing vocal expression - like an instrument in itself - comes into play as the beautiful weather arrived later in the year. The musical composition is enhanced by tension and grace, just as I remember this expressive Champagne feeling on my palate when I tasted it with the Cellar Master. I recall enjoying the way the deep flavours of its backbone, which I translated into the underlying beat, interplay with its shining vivacity, which I expressed through the dynamic music of the year 2004. Overall, the punctuating notes and bright vocal tones are how I image Luminous Freshness sounds – in it, you can hear the light.
For Krug 2006, the musicality was different, as 2006 was a year of weather extremes. The heatwave that came at the end of June was one for the books. I remember it quite well as it arrived with the beginning of the festival season. The first image I got from Krug 2006 is that of a lonesome hero who somehow manages to survive everything, headstrong, mature, mysterious, engaging, iconic, all imprints I used to compose a bespoke music for Krug 2006; my Krug Echo.
Krug Grand Cuvée is the House’s symphonic masterpiece, offering the equivalent in flavours and aromas of a 120-piece orchestra. I still remember my first glass; being overwhelmed by a complexity I did not expect from a Champagne. It was one big crescendo, a feast of highlights, the big finale of a huge fireworks, all impressions I tried to convey through my Krug Echo.
