How to Identify the Age of Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée Labels

One of the highest regarded non-vintage Champagne labels is that of Krug and their Grand Cuvée. This multi-blend is currently (as of January 2025) at an impressive 172^ème Édition (release) having launched way back in 1843. Each year, despite whatever the conditions of the yearly harvest, Krug releases the Grand Cuvée to the delight of Champagne lovers globally.

For vintage Champagne enthusiasts, Krug is one of the best houses for their wines to be enjoyed with added cellar ageing after purchase. Preferences will vary and of course, the wines are always released to be enjoyed for today and for tomorrow…

The Krug winery can be found in the capital city of Champagne, Reims: Maison Krug 5, rue Coquebert – 51100 Reims, France

 

In recent years (since 2011), the information of each release has been conveniently shared on the label, via identifications, and by way of Krug IDs so you can discover more about your bottle – Simply type in the code via the following webpage: Krug iD to discover more about your bottle

Once we start to investigate labels pre 2011 then this is where we sometimes need a little help so to understand the age of (^ème Édition) the bottle, as no information is available including what that all important ^ème Édition of the bottle is.

So, how do we know what ^ème Édition each older Krug Grande Cuvée bottle is?

It is quite common that non-vintage Champagne releases of previous years from all wineries will have little to no information about their age, this is not a unique case involving Krug only. In recent years, producers have started to place more information on labels / bottles / corks so that the consumer can easily identify the important information about their purchase to include dates for bottling / disgorging / lot or ID numbers and much more – Let us not also forget that nearly all non-vintage Champagne is produced so to drink early and would not be recommended for long ageing. If long ageing occurs, then it is very likely that the flavours / aromas will be vastly different to what the producer initially desired to share with their customers (umami characters will develop).

The history of Grand Cuvée dates back to 1843 though prior to 1978 the name was Private Cuvée.

Visual differences to look out for when trying to establish the age of the bottle:

Label: Over the years the label has changed with varying information and differences to guide you on the release date. In recent years we have the ID code on the back label and on the front will be the ème edition number. Colouring would be another key factor to look out for with recent years cream / beige being chosen and from the past white / yellow / gold being the main background colour. Shades of the font and pattern will also have changed over the years along with the size of lettering / patterns / font / barcode or no barcode. There are also rare ‘special releases‘ with mostly longer lees ageing with titles such as Mémoires, Finesse and Fraîcheur.

Neck foil: This has also changed over the years so again you need to compare foil colour, design / pattern, size, wording and font. Some will have an additional paper label.

Bottle: The shape of the bottle is quite iconic for Krug. Over the years this has slightly changed with a standard shape bottle on pre 1978 releases.

Cork / capsule: If you intend to open the bottle (or peel away the neck foil) then you will get an opportunity to see both the cork and the capsule which will give clues to age from coding on the cork itself to the design of artwork on the capsule. In recent years the code on the cork will help you to identify the disgorgement date via ‘V‘ coding with four digits, previously there was ‘V’ coding with three digits and two digits with other letters featured supposedly including ‘M‘. Much older bottles will have no digits to explore. These codes are usually around the rim of the cork.

 

“If you have older releases of Krug Grande Cuvée / Private Cuvée, you can approach either the team at Krug themselves (if you assume the bottle is pre 1950’s especially) or ask for advice from varied Champagne collector websites and social media groups. There are many Champagne enthusiasts globally of which most will be very happy to help you to identify the possible age of your bottle.“ Christopher Walkey

Further tips to help you identify your Krug Grande Cuvée:

Check on Google and search for terms such as ‘Champagne Krug Grande Privee Cuvee labels‘ where you will see a selection of results (especially in the image section). Try and search through to see if you spot your label though do pay close attention as many labels are near or enough of the same design!

 

Champagne Krug obviously produces more labels than just the Grande Cuvée, explore the world of Champagne Krug labels.

“Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man, Joseph Krug, to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Since 1843, the House of Krug has honoured this vision with each new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée: the most generous expression of Champagne.” source official Krug website