Joy of Terroir 2011

January - Clos du Mesnil, Champagne

As a blended wine, Champagne isn't always associated with terroir, but Krug's Clos du Mesnil is a bit different. This 1.85ha south-facnig plot of Chardonnay grapes has been surrounded by the village of Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côtes de Blancs since 1698. The Krug family, who bought it in 1971, replanted the vines one by one, and in 1979 released the first vintage of the wine as we know it today - a single-vineyard bottling, made only in great years. With a production of 12,000 bottles, each prices at sround £600, the most recent vintages are 1998, 1996, 1995, 1992 and 1990 (descibed as 'magic in a bottle' by Jancis Robinson MW).