Journey with Krug Champagne

By Johan Tan, MBA in International Luxury Brand Management 2013-2014, Singapore

Margareth Henriquez
CEO & President

On Tuesday, 1st October 2013, our class had the privilege of welcoming a guest speaker during our Introduction to Oenology class: Krug champagne President & CEO, Ms. Margareth Henriquez, who gave us a short introduction to the luxury wines and spirits sector, specifically in the area of champagne.

Ms Henriquez, affectionately known as Maggie, started off her passionate lecture by giving us a brief overview of how LVMH is split into the different sectors of luxury, namely wines & spirits, fashion & leather goods, perfumes & cosmetics, watches & jewelry, selective retail and other activities, and how each sector contributed to the global revenues of the group.

We then delved deeper into the wines and spirits sector, with a specific emphasis on the champagne business and a brief history of how the champagne Maison Krug came to be, beginning with its founder, Johann-Joseph Krug, who coincidentally shares a similar spelling to my own name. We learnt how champagne is made and how each champagne Maison has its own distinctive style, DNA and codes, before analysing the differences between Krug and its key competitors.

Even though we were all fascinated by the champagne business and by Ms. Henriquez as a speaker, the

Color differences between the Grande
Cuvée Brut & the 2000 Vintage Brut

highlight of the class was most definitely the moment when we were informed that we would have the privilege of tasting some of Krug’s portfolio, namely the Grande Cuvée Brut and the 2000 vintage Brut.  By comparing both champagnes side by side in terms of their maturity, freshness, fullness, colour, flavours and aromas, we were able to notice the subtle differences between the two champagnes and discover how each of us had a distinctive preference between the two.

As a champagne lover who had his first taste of Krug on his 25th birthday a couple of years back, it was an absolute pleasure and honour to be able to meet this remarkable woman who took time out of her busy schedule to share with us her passion for Krug and for introducing us some of the most exquisite champagnes available today.