READ · COMPARE · EXPLAIN
Krug: narrowing by village, plot, and vintage
This is a Champagne house based in Reims. They make the multi-vintage Grand Cuvée by blending various base wines, as well as single-vineyard, single-variety, single-vintage wines like Clos du Mesnil.
Here is a breakdown of the raw material scope of Clos du Mesnil by village and plot, along with details on grape variety and vintage.
Questions for this course
What is the single thing restricted in Clos du Mesnil?
Before you start reading, briefly jot down your thoughts. You will rephrase them at the end.
To applied practice using the material ↓
To explanation task notes ↓Krug / Learn by producer
France / Champagne / Reims
Aliases & spellings: Krug
Update date: 2026-09-24
The 1.84ha enclosed vineyard
Clos du Mesnil is a 1.84 ha vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. There is a difference in raw material scope between collecting all the Chardonnay from the village and selecting a specific plot within the village.
Combine variety and year into one.
Clos du Mesnil is a wine expressing the Chardonnay from this vineyard in a single vintage. It combines three conditions: single variety, single plot, single vintage. It is distinct from cuvées that meet only one of these criteria.
Does not necessarily become an independent label every year.
Krug explains that the base wine is tasted and a decision is made either to bottle it as Clos du Mesnil or use it in the blend for other cuvées. The presence of the vineyard alone does not guarantee the release of a single vineyard wine for that year.
What to align and what to compare.
Place
- Conditions to standardize
- Krug
- Conditions for comparison.
- Le Mesnil’s 1.84ha clos
- Additional points to confirm
- Distinguish between the whole village and plots.
Variety and Vintage
- Conditions to standardize
- Krug
- Conditions for comparison.
- Chardonnay / single vintage
- Additional points to confirm
- Record the two conditions separately
Adoption
- Conditions to standardize
- Krug
- Conditions for comparison.
- Choose how to use it after tasting
- Additional points to confirm
- Not necessarily released every year.
Order of reading and key points to consider in each article
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READ · HYPOTHESIZE · RECONSIDER
Reading Krug’s material: narrowing to village, plot, and vintage
Compare the stated conditions in the documentation. Numbers specifying vintages should be treated as information for that specific year.
This summarizes materials published by producers, regional groups, and importers. Each source includes the publisher and the date the material was checked.
| Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Le Mesnil’s 1.84ha clos | Distinguish between the whole village and plots. |
| Variety and Vintage | Chardonnay / single vintage | Record the two conditions separately |
| Adoption | Choose how to use it after tasting | Not necessarily released every year. |
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Read the explanation for each question
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1.84ha indicates what?
This is a specific plot within a village.
What are the three limiting conditions?
The three single attributes can be checked separately. Focusing on a specific clos within the village, combining a single harvest year with Chardonnay. Not all single-variety wines in general have these same conditions. This also distinguishes them from wines made solely from Chardonnay across multiple villages or vintages.
Does every vineyard harvest always result in a single-vineyard bottling?
The intended use of the base wine is a factor for evaluation.
Basis and sources for the exercise
Practice exercises in comparison
Please explain differences in raw materials and winemaking by reading the table and sources.
Read examples of organizing comparisons
| Conditions for Comparison | Comparison items | What can be determined from the materials | Ability to distinguish by reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Le Mesnil’s 1.84ha clos | Distinguish between the whole village and plots. | |
| Variety and Vintage | Chardonnay / single vintage | Record the two conditions separately | |
| Adoption | Choose how to use it after tasting | Not necessarily released every year. |
Sources of materials used for comparison are listed in the text and exercises.
Explain in your own words
Please introduce the scope of Clos du Mesnil’s raw materials by separating village and plot, and add the conditions of grape variety and vintage.
Check after writing
- Did you specify the label, vintage, and scope of materials to be compared?
- Did you distinguish and explain the three items in the table?
- Did you separate verified facts from points to check further with additional references or tasting?
Save response to explanation task
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