Cover Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition (Photo: Krug)
Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition (Photo: Krug)
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The champagne house collaborates with five talented musicians to curate unique compositions that complement the tasting experience of the Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition
A great champagne is best savoured while listening to music, as it has been long understood that soothing sounds can have a positive impact on our taste perception. Building on this belief, House of Krug tapped into five renowned musicians across the globe to translate their experience of tasting the Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition into a unique musical composition.
The famed musicians—otherwise known as the Krug Lover artist collective—are Mary Lattimore, a harpist and composer based in the USA; Emiri Miyamoto, an award-winning violinist from Japan; Kazu Makino, a renowned vocalist, producer and composer from Japan; Moses Boyd, an acclaimed drummer and former BBC 1Xtra resident from the UK; and Rone, a composer and electronic music artist from France.
After auditioning around 250 individualities, the five musicians were handpicked by the Krug team based on their shared values with the champagne house as well as their ability to mix codes and express the bubbly’s generosity through their individual art forms. In order to do so, cellar master Julie Cavil became the ‘music conductor’ and took them on a tasting journey of the Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition, captivating them with stories about what makes these expressions special and discussing how the various taste sensations can be translated into their craft.
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Above Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition
Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition
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With their individual interpretations of the champagnes, they were able to create two unique musical compositions for the two expressions. Both were guided by founder Olivier Krug’s philosophy of individuality and crafting the most generous champagne every year, regardless of climate variations.
The Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition is a blend of 131 wines from 12 different years; the oldest being 2000 and the youngest being 2015. The collective created a composition, or Krug Echo, titled ‘Joseph’s Theme: Dream Variation’, harmoniously blended by Rone to showcase the generosity of the 171ème Édition with an echo that slowly builds on itself until it reaches a crescendo of fireworks.
Having said that, the music first enchants with its light and airy harp sound reminiscent of the “blissful sparkling bubbles” that captivated Lattimore during her tasting journey. Violinist Miyamoto entwined this with “layers of tension and vivacity to mirror the precise backbone that prevails in Krug Grande Cuvée”, while drummer Boyd gave it the much-needed rhythm which “picks up energy and richness towards the apex”. This arrangement beautifully complements Kazu’s silky voice, which represents the generosity of champagne. For Rone, the 171ème Édition composition “reconciles paradoxes in every sip, just as each musician brings their own unique contribution to the musical assemblage.”
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Above Krug Rosé 27ème Édition
Krug Rosé 27ème Édition
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As for the bold and vivacious Krug Rosé 27ème Édition, which is an assemblage of 38 wines from nine different years (the oldest being 2005 and the youngest 2015), the collective transformed into a chamber orchestra that performed a balancing act of substance and finesse. As Rone put it, “I imagined that each musician would be able to express his or her singularity and character, leaving them free to improvise in order to create a composition full of surprise and variation.”
Dubbed ‘Joseph’s Theme: Freedom Variation’, the harp underpins the “finesse and structure of the Krug Rosé 27ème Édition”, shared Lattimore. Her creation is punctuated by Miyamoto’s violin composition—a lively melody that is full of rupture and contrast which perfectly blends with Makino’s magical voice, and Boyd’s drum beats. While each of their sounds is distinct, they seamlessly blend well together with Rone’s artful mixing.
With these new echoes, House of Krug has launched limited editions of Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition. These come with a QR code which lets champagne lovers listen to the unique compositions while enjoying a glass of bubbly.
The Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition and Krug Rosé 27ème Édition are now available on The Moomba Wine Shop.
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Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
