Restaurant: Il Grano [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Location: 11359 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.477.7886

Date: October 7, 2015

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Awesome night! Krug & Sal both rule.

Sage Society’s Liz Lee has been planning this epic dinner for a long time. She’s a huge champagne fan, and Krug is one of her favorites. We are joined by Mike Hoagland from Moet Hennesy, representing Krug. Plus lots of Krug itself!

Il Grano’s private room. We drank from the special Riedel Joseph Krug glasses the house had specially made.

2006 Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 94 points. A yeasty nose that is at once fresh yet carries hints of secondary development is attractively complex and layered with mostly floral and citrus notes that are trimmed in a brioche character. The secondary aspect carries over to the equally yeasty flavors that are supported by a moderately fine mousse that adds a sense of lift to the dry, clean and utterly delicious finish without being aggressively effervescent. This is almost invariably a very good cuvée and the most recent release is consistent with this admirable track record. Note that while this could easily be enjoyed now I would be inclined to hold it for at least another 3 to 5 years first though this of course depends greatly on how you prefer your Champagne.

Tuna tartar.

Corn pudding and oyster leaf. Kind of slightly weird, and hard to get the leaf off the spoon.

Truffle potato croquetas. Like a truffled tater tot.

Cutterfish fritto. Salty, tender, delicious.

Our special menu.

Our chef Sal Marino, always an amazing host.

Liz Lee of Sage Society, who organized this whole thing.

Mike Hoagland is a Champagne Specialist at Moet Hennesy, which means he evangelizes Krug (along with Dom P and others).

He explained the different wines in a fascinating way. I had long wondered about how champagne houses make such quantities yet keep quality and consistency. Apparently, Krug buys and grows about 400 separate parcels of land, mostly 1re and grand cru Champagne (well all Champagne). 150-200 or so of these are blended together every year to make the Grand Cuvee, and this gives them a tremendous toolbox to mix up a really stunning blend. Plus, they don’t just use one year, but as many as 11 different vintages — although there is a “main” base vintage (usually about 10 years prior to release). Below is the “re-created 2006”, just released.

2006 Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 94 points. A yeasty nose that is at once fresh yet carries hints of secondary development is attractively complex and layered with mostly floral and citrus notes that are trimmed in a brioche character. The secondary aspect carries over to the equally yeasty flavors that are supported by a moderately fine mousse that adds a sense of lift to the dry, clean and utterly delicious finish without being aggressively effervescent. This is almost invariably a very good cuvée and the most recent release is consistent with this admirable track record. Note that while this could easily be enjoyed now I would be inclined to hold it for at least another 3 to 5 years first though this of course depends greatly on how you prefer your Champagne.

1990s Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée. 96 points. This mid 90s grand cuvee was much more amber, deeper, richer, nuttier. Really quiet lovely and in great shape. Apparently it contains a blend of different vintages some as old as from the 70s.

Wild Japanese Snapper Crudo. Tomatoes from Sal’s garden.

Moving into a little more wine discussion, vintage Krug is a blend of vineyards all from a single year.

2003 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Light yellow. Powerful, complex bouquet evokes fresh peach, pear, floral honey, green almond and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and orchard fruit flavors show outstanding vivacity for a hot vintage, picking up ginger and talc notes with air. The strikingly long, sappy finish features zesty orange pith, smoky minerals and an echo of honeysuckle. I’d be in no rush to drink this one. Speaking of waiting, I had the chance to revisit the 2000 Vintage Krug and it has begun to pick up the smoky, weighty and nutty character that long-time fans of this producer crave. It’s still plenty young but already unmistakably Krug, with a chewy texture and a sexy floral nuance dominating right now.

agavin: very approachable right now

2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 95. Brioche, dried pear, smoke, almonds, chamomile and wild herbs are all laced together in Krug’s 2000 Vintage. A wine of striking depth and resonance, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous today. The first signs of very early tertiary complexity have begun to appear while the acidity is softening, both of which make the 2000 delicious today. At the same time, there is no hurry. I imagine the 2000 will still be gorgeous 20 years from now. Slight elements of reduction linger on the close. The blend is 43% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 15% Pinot Meunier, a rare vintage in which Chardonnay is quite high.

agavin: taught and more acidic, but very deep.

Sea bass, cauliflower mushroom, oven dried tomatoes. Blistered almonds and basil salad was tossed in pistachio oil and was raw. Delicious!

1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 94. Bright gold. Ripe orchard fruits, peach pit, toffee, marzipan and dried flowers on the pungent, smoky nose. Broad and fleshy on entry, then tighter in the mid-palate, offering palate-staining pit fruit nectar, apple pie and brioche flavors, enhanced by a toffeed quality. Closes spicy and very long, with resonating smoke and toasted hazlenut qualities.

1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 98. The 1996 Vintage is magnificent. A towering, explosive Champagne, the 1996 delivers the house’s signature breadth in a full-bodied, structured Champagne with enough pure density and acidity to age well for decades. Warm nutty and spiced overtones add nuance on the finish. The 1996 is just beginning to enter the early part of its mature stage, where it is sure to remain for several decades. Krug’s Vintage is one of the truly epic wines of the year.

agavin: a massive powerful acid bomb of a wine!

Poached Main Lobster. Roasted Squash, Lobster Sauce. A really lovely bit of lobster with that bisque-like sauce.

Guinea Hen Consommé, autumn vegetables. Savory and lovely.

Below we are lucky to try side by side two variants of 89 Krug, the “original” which was released perhaps around 2000, and the “collection” which is the same blend, but sits on the lees two years longer and then is held at the house for many many more years. It therefore represents a perfectly stored example.

1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 96. While the ’89 is not a current release, I happened to have the opportunity to taste it again in August so I included the note here: a positively spectacular nose that is now fully mature and quite yeasty with real breadth and depth leads to rich, fresh, sweet and intense flavors that also seems to have loads of barely concealed reserves of power and depth, finally explode on the hugely persistent finish. I’ve had better Champagnes but not many and this is a seriously impressive effort that can be drunk now or held for years to come.

agavin: I loved the nutty mature quality of this. Liz’s bottle was in amazing shape.

1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut Collection. AG 96. The 1989 Brut Collection is all of the things a gorgeous, mature Champagne should be. Autumn leaves, tobacco, mint, licorice, dried pears and sweet, exotic spices all waft from the glass in this totally complete, layered wine. The 1989 is a big, huge wine, rather it is a Champagne that impresses with exceptional overall balance and total finesse. I have had the 1989 Collection several times, but this is by far the finest bottle I have run across. When Krug is firing on all cylinders, there really is no substitute.

agavin: slightly more refined and younger than the non collection version, but very similar.

Tagliolini.

With fresh white truffles. Simple, but a lovely champagne pairing.

1979 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. JK 95. Start with a hint of oxidation but with air got fresher and richer. Brioche, baked apples, orange peel and anise. It displays rich palate and thoroughly enjoyable.

agavin: Wow. Maybe the best champagne I’ve ever had. A monster, and so fresh, although certainly “mature” tasting.

1966 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. VM 100. One of the most gorgeous, viscerally thrilling wines I have ever had the privilege to taste and drink. Where to start? Impossibly finessed, crystalline and weightless, the 1966 captivates all the senses with its breathtaking beauty. Hints of apricot, wild flowers and chamomile grace the palate in an utterly exquisite, textured Champagne that still retains surprising freshness and clarity for its age. The 1966 is simply timeless. There are only a handful of Champagnes that play in this rarified stratosphere. Many of them come from the Krug cellar in Reims.

agavin: mature and in great shape, not as wow as the 1979, but still a stunner.

Pheasant, sunchoke puree, speck polenta. Mild and perfectly cooked juicy poultry.

Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 94. The NV Brut Rosé is brilliant and finely-sculpted in the glass, with floral aromatics, pulsating minerality and chiseled fruit. Less austere than it can be, the Rosé impresses for its combination of tension and textured, phenolic weight. There is so much to like. This release (ID 213027) is based on the 2006 vintage. The blend is 59% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 8% Pinot Meunier. Disgorged Spring 2013.

older Krug Champagne Brut Rosé. AG 95. An older bottle, I’m not sure how much older, obviously made in a different year from a different blend. More mature and salmon colored, but not even slightly faded.

Look at the pale rose colors. This photo is fairly faithful.

Lamb neck Osso Buco. Bone sucking good. I was literally sucking at it for a while. Super tender and flavorful. Paired well with the roses too.

Selection of cheeses. Small, but very nice, particularly the blue.

Another stunner of a dinner.

Food was right on point. Perfectly paired (thanks Liz and Sal). Really great stuff. Sadly, Il Grano is closing at the end of 2015, after 18 years. Chef/Owner Sal wants to try a new concept as people don’t seem as enamored of fine dining and white tablecloths as they used to be. Sigh.

The Krug was amazing. I have a newfound respect for Krug. I will be buying more, as it’s a seriously likeable champagne and really made with the kind of exquisite care that typifies the best wines in the world.

Also, Mike Hoagland from Krug was fabulous company. Very educated, smart, and interesting. He regaled us with all sorts of stories and details about the winery. I really learned a lot more about how champagne is made, particularly blended champy.

Thanks Liz!

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Or experience my gluttonous month-long journey through Northern Italy.