Krug - Grande Cuvee Brut Champagne 169th Edition NV (750ml)
Price: $239.00
| Producer | Krug |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Varietal | Champagne Blend |
| Sku | 2996 |
| Size | 750ml |
This bottle belongs to the 168ème Édition a blend of 198 wines from 11 different years. The youngest is from the year 2012 and the oldest dates back to 1996. A stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this Édition its remarkable expression and elegance. Every glass poured from it is the fruit of more than 20 years of careful craftsmanship. The 168ème Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée was composed around the harvest of 2012 a beautiful year with a low yield due to the panoply of meteorological events the region endured. Frost rain storms and hale all hit the vineyards of Champagne in winter and spring 2012 followed by the driest ripening season since 1974 resulting in 20% fewer grapes. To realise the final creation wines of the year from meticulously selected plots were blended with reserve wines from 10 other years. The careful attention given to the vines and Krug’s unique respect for the individual character of each plot enabled the breadth of expression of this Édition. In all reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 42% of the final blend bringing the breadth and roundness so essential to each Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée. The final composition of this bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée is 52% Pinot Noir 35% Chardonnay and 13% Meunier. Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man Joseph Krug to offer the very best Champagne every single year regardless of annual variations in climate. Each year the House of Krug honours this dream with a new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée: the fullest expression of Champagne."
Wine Advocate: 96+ Points
Based on the 2013 vintage and complemented by some 40% reserve wines dating back to 2000 Krug's newly released NV Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is showing very nicely unfurling in the glass with notes of citrus oil buttered toast dried apricot warm biscuits and marmalade. Medium to full-bodied deep and incisive it's a tauter more chiseled rendition of Grande Cuvée by comparison with the richer more textural and more demonstrative 168ème Édition (based on the 2012 vintage) that preceded it; but its bright spine of acidity is nicely cloaked in fruit. Concluding with a long and sapid finish this is a very classically balanced Champagne that will reward bottle age
Wine Spectator: 96 Points
A vivid Champagne with a chiseled frame of acidity and a chalky underpinning cloaked in a fine mousse that caresses the palate with its gossamer-like texture. Lovely aromas of coffee liqueur anise and verbena accent the layered flavors of tangerine Macadamia nut brioche and ripe plum a profile that expands on the long mouthwatering finish. There's power and expressive character to this with a delicacy to its fine integration and length. Pinot Noir Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged winter 2020. Drink now through 2030. From France. ?A.N.
John Gilman: 95 Points
The new release of Krug Grande Cuvée the 169ème Édition is from the base year of 2013 but includes fully forty percent of reserve wines all the way back to the harvest of 2000. The cépages for this new iteration of Grande Cuvée is forty-three percent pinot noir thirty-five percent chardonnay and twenty-two percent pinot meunier. The wine is beautifully expressive on the nose wafting from the glass in a complex blend of pear apple a touch of passion fruit chalky soil tones brioche incipient notes of caraway seed just a whisper of buttery oak and lovely floral tones in the upper register from the pinot meunier component in the cépages. On the palate the wine is deep full-bodied complex and racy with a great core zesty acids elegant mousse and a very long very pure and perfectly balanced finish. This is really a stunning new version of Grande Cuvée. It is approachable already but I would be inclined to give it just a few more years in the cellar and let its girdle of acidity relax a bit more so that the wine can deepen and broaden in its palate impression. Fine fine juice. (Drink between 2024-2075)
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