Hi i’m konstantin baum master of wine And to celebrate 30 000 subscribers i’m Doing a special tasting of three Different champagnes but not just any Champagne instead i’m doing a deep dive Tasting into the wines of one of the Best producers of sparkling wine in the World crook so let’s roll [Music] First of all thank you to all of my Subscribers we should really be drinking These wines together and maybe one day We will if you haven’t subscribed yet Then please do it really helps out the Channel for me personally cook has Always been one of the most desirable Champagnes in the world but the ones are Difficult to get as they are not cheap These three wines combined cost a Whopping 1400 us dollars but many wine Lovers all around the world are prepared To pay that price so what is behind the House of crook and why are people all Around the world in love with those Wines cougar was established in 1843 in Rans the capital of champaign and it Wasn’t one of the first champagne houses By any stretch it was founded by johann Josef krug a german immigrant who left Germany in 1824 and learned the trade at Jacques he got himself jean joseph after Moving to france and he and his family Propelled the house to the top in the Region by the way cook is a very german
Name and it directly translates to jack Or jar as in i will have myself a kook Of cook Cook like many other champagne houses Was bought by moe hennessy in 1999 but Olivier cook is still the director of The house it’s still a bit of an Exception in champaign that the seller Master at cook is a woman julie cavill She worked at cook for 14 years before Taking over from long-term seller master Eric lebel in 2020. she clearly knows Cook very well and that is important Because cook is very different they only Have prestige curves and don’t have any Entry-level champagnes and all of the Wine all of the base wine is fermented In 205 liter oak barrels this changes The flavor and the texture of the wines By quite a lot and using those small Vessels also allows them to do a really Thorough selection of different parcels They produce five different wines the Grand curve the roseanne the vintage the Clothing is nil and the claw dumbbonnet But the last two wines are single Vineyard champagnes that were only added In the 1970s and 1990s and cookers Really built their reputation on high Quality blends so we will focus on these Three blends today i’m going to taste These wines for my real veritas Champagne glass by the way i always Mention the glass and the wines that i’m
Tasting below the video in the Description because i often get that Question if you taste great champagne You should use a bigger glass you don’t Have to use this one but you should use One with a bigger bowl maggie enriquez The ceo of crook one said that drinking Crook from a flute is like going to a Concert with ear plugs in your ears and I think that’s a great comparison but Now let’s pop some corks hook follows a Different approach to many other Champagne houses they don’t produce a Non-vintage brood that tastes the same Every year instead they produce a Different addition every year that Represents the qualities of the base Wines so this is the 169th edition that retails for roughly 250 us dollars introducing the labeling By edition was a really smart move by Cook because it really highlights the Fact that each year the wine represents A slightly different stylistic Expression plus it makes the wine so Much more collectible this 169th edition Is a blend of 146 different wines from 11 vintages it’s mainly built around the 2013 vintage but the wines go back to The 2000 vintage this is a cuvee of 43 Pinot noir 35 percent chardonnay and 22 Percent pinot meunier but it’s really Time to taste now this is a really good Start to my day the wine smells of lemon
Zest orange zest but there’s also Macadamia nut coming through brioche Baked goods so it’s quite complex but Also really inviting it’s really intense Aromatic beautiful on the palette it has This beautiful balance between richness And concentration and a very fresh very Vibrant Laser beam of acidity that really cuts Through all of the body and the Concentration by the way cook really Focuses on traceability they introduce This cook id number on the back of the Label of the bottle that you can enter Into a website or even into an Application And that will then tell you Everything you need to know about that Wine maybe even about that bottle i Haven’t even tried it so i’ll have a Look now okay yeah this is kind of nice But i don’t really see what other Information i get from this as opposed To when i just searched for the chrome Qv on the website but i guess this id Will also allow cook to have a little Bit more traceability on when their Wines end up and it also will combat Fraud so that’s a good thing Robertpacker.com gave this one 96 plus Points and venice gave it 94. i would Rate this 96 points i’m not a big fan of The plus or minus thing And i think this is outstanding this is
Really high quality And i do like this a lot Kind of hard to spit this the next Bottle i’m going to open is the 2008 Vintage from krug it retails for 800 us Dollars and it’s the expression of one Year 2008 was a very highly rated Vintage even though it was the coldest Year in 14 years in champaign and the Vines received very little sunlight this Is actually beneficial for the Production of champagne for champagne You need cool temperatures in order to Get the freshness the vibrancy into the Bottle the wine is a cuvee of 53 pinot Noir 25 percent phenomena and 22 Chardonnay the vintage was described by Cook as the classic beauty but what Isn’t classic is that pinot meunier for The first time made up a larger share of The blend than chardonnay normally Pinoumini is not used in prestige cuvees To a large extent because it doesn’t Have the reputation of being very Age-worthy but in this case crook really Liked the penimenti and had to include It the wine aged for 12 years in the Cellars of crook to give it more Richness and complexity so let’s see Whether that has paid off i received Some hate in the comments because i Swirl my champagne glass i do like to Swirl my champagne class because i want The champagne to open up and show me
Everything it has if you don’t like that That’s fine you don’t have to swirl it i Do stylistically this is a very Different wine compared to the ground Curvy this is much more linear and not As opulent and concentrated there’s far Less nuttiness here for me this smells Very much of lemon tart on the palate There’s lots of freshness lots of length But it’s very very linear so it doesn’t Cover all of your mouth it’s more Like a very fresh vibrant Clean cut on your tongue and It’s beautiful but it’s very different So this makes it difficult to rate it Because it’s not opulent not in your Face But it’s full of finesse robertpaker.com Gave it 94 plus points winners gave it 97 points which is very high in my Opinion i think this is a beautiful wine It’s a very clean delicate fresh and Vibrant wine but i would actually rate This 95 points beautiful outstanding Wine but It lacks maybe a little bit of Expression in my opinion if you’re Wondering which song goes with this Champagne then crook has you covered They’ve actually partnered up with Different musicians who compose songs For each wine that they produce and you Can then go and listen to the music on Cook’s website and yeah decide whether
You like that music with that champagne Or not i think this is still too young You should age this for a few more years Give it a bit more texture a bit more Roundness for everything to really come Together great champagne can age a long Long time and this one will definitely Go a long way the last wine of the Lineup is the kukozee 25th edition that Retails for 350 us dollars it’s a q of 28 different wines from five different Vintages ranging from the 2013 vintage To the 2008 vintage it’s a caviar of 45 Percent pinot noir 30 percent chardonnay And 25 percent pinot meni and it was Aged for seven years in the sellers of Cook first and foremost the wine is a Very intense color it’s almost a little Bit red and this is due to the fact that They use 11 Of pinot noir made like a red wine to Give it this color and also a little bit More texture a little bit different Flavors so yeah this is the style of the House on the nose it’s beautiful there’s Lots of strawberry raspberry character Coming through there’s also a little bit Of chocolate a little bit of croissant Flavor in the glass so i really like That on the palette it’s juicy forward It’s a little bit grippy and there’s a Little bit of tannic grip there lots of Freshness in the finish but this is not A light and delicate wine it’s more of a
Full bodied rose this is an excellent Wine and i’m going to rate it 96 points This is also why cook is saying that you Should drink this wine with really Savory dishes and I’m getting hungry here so let’s get Something to eat all right i have some Sushi here and freshly made sushi and Champagne that should work right but you Never know until you try [Music] You could obviously just drink the Champagne on its own but pairing it with Food is also a very good idea and sushi Is a pretty safe bet i would say so i’m Going to pick one sashimi per champagne And Let’s taste i’m going to pair the ground Cube with this sushi roll because the Concubine is a little bit more intense And aromatic and this is crab meat and Avocado so it has a little bit more Flavor and i think this will go really Well very nice Yeah it does really well the sushi roll Has a little bit more concentration a Little bit more power The fat the creamier stuff around the Crab meat Gets cut away by the sharp acidity of This wine flavor-wise this can Really Deal really well with the sushi the next One is the 2008 vintage and here i’m
Actually going for something delicate And fine i got scallops on rice and i Think this will be a perfect match Delicious this is a really good match The fine scallop flavor and the delicate Champagne go really well together the Freshness of the wine really wipes away All of the texture from the palette it Serves almost like this squeeze of lemon Onto your scallops so Multiband tribia They’re good with the rosacean paint we Need something more flavorful and Intense salmon and pinot noir go really Well together so i’m going to try some Sashimi and rosacean pain so let’s dig In I love my job I do Well this is almost too powerful for the Salmon but luckily i prepared something Else this is smoked eel and Maybe just maybe this is going to work i Don’t know let’s see Oh wow that’s magic so The smoky flavor of the ear plus this Slightly sweet sauce goes super well With the champagne it doesn’t get Overpowered at all both stand there in Their own right but They also Kind of make love to each other It’s really good great match glad that i Tried that so thank you for watching i
Hope you enjoyed this video i most Certainly did enjoy myself thanks to Everyone out there who’s been subscribed Who’s liking my videos who’s commenting You guys are great um most definitely I’m going to drink a lot of proof today So i’m staying thirsty whatever you guys Do stay thirsty too [Music] You