There is no fingerprint of place more pronounced than the mineral voice of the soil that resonates in the most distinctive champagnes. In all Champagne, I have not tasted a wine of such earth-shaking minerality as Clos du Mesnil 2000. It rumbles to the very core of the earth deep below this mesmerising site, then rises on the finish, like a shard of pure chalk erupting from the surface of the clos itself. Krug calls Clos du Mesnil 2000 ‘the miracle wine’ after a hail storm destroyed half the vineyard, reducing the yield to 11,300 bottles. The surviving fruit escaped with remarkable endurance, still fresh and poised at 13 years of age, with a shining sabre of lemon and grapefruit acidity that slices through its core with razor precision, yet all the while impossibly creamy and gentle. Krug doesn’t measure malolactic fermentation, but the breathtaking tension and eternal longevity of this cuvée is certainly charged with high-voltage malic acidity. A remarkable contradiction exists within its vector of pristine precision, unravelling a universe of complexity of anise, licorice, roast almonds, truffles, honey and molten wax. Krug Clos du Mesnil is queen of blanc de blancs, and yet again the wine of the vintage. $1100 at The Pink Drinks.