Another excellent iteration of Champagne's greatest Non-vintage Cuvee, Krug's Grande Cuvee sets the bar and is an exceptionally consistent bottle. Krug Grand Cuvee is held to an incredibly high standard, masterfully crafted by the current and incredibly talented Chef de Cave Julie Cavil, who we tasted with personally when she was working at Piper-Heidsieck. Krug's Grande Cuvee is an outstanding Champagne that loves the cellar, developing a compounding complexity with time in the bottle while still being very enjoyable on release. The base vintage for the 172 edition is 2016, which is a lovely yet short vintage for Champagne and an incredible starting point for this cuvee. The Grande Cuvee is a careful selection of plots blended with reserve wine going back to 1998, contributing to about 42% of the blend. Around 131 vin clairs were blended by Julie Cavil to get the final blend, which comes to 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 26% Pinot Meunier. This was aged on the lees for about seven years and is a fantastic example of the Grand Cuvee. Krug is the ultimate expression of Non-Vintage Champagne, and this is another magnificent example from this prestigious house.
Decanter 97 points! "The 172ème édition, based around the 2016 vintage, is a delicate, floral and saline Grande Cuvée at this early stage in its life. The palate it taut, tightly wound, gradually unfurling into toasted fruit bread, rye bread and roasted nuts, wrapped around an intricate and taut lemon core. It's exceptionally long, spicy, rounded and spherical in shape. Notes of sweet unsalted butter round out the finish, which has such length, elegance and balance. 58% of the wine is from the 2016 vintage, which saw a lot of rain in the spring and close to flowering, with 42% from reserve wines. The blend is made up of 146 separately vinified wines from 11 different years, and the oldest wine in the blend is from the 1998 vintage."
Antonio Galloni 95 points! "The NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition is a gracious, sublime Champagne. Light citrus notes, white flowers, spice, marzipan and chamomile inflections all run through this delicate, nuanced Grande Cuvée. The 172eme is a Champagne of understatement and class that is very much a reflection of the base year. Brisk acids pull it all together. The Grande Cuvée is often quite accessible on release, but this is an Edition I would cellar for at least another year or two. It’s a fine effort from Krug. The 172ème Édition is a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier based on 2016 with reserve wines back to 1998."
Wine Advocate (Yohan Castaing) 95 points! "The new Krug release, the NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, based on the 2016 vintage and comprising 11 vintages in total (the oldest is 1998), is outstanding. It reveals a complex, slightly spicy bouquet of white fruits, beeswax, marzipan, hazelnuts, dried herbs, ripe orchard fruits and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated on the palate, it has a subtly spicy entry, an enrobing and layered texture and a fleshy core of fruit framed around a perfectly balanced, fresh and mineral finish. Crafted primarily from Pinot Noir (44%) and complemented with 30% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, it was disgorged in the first quarter of 2023 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter. Keep it for 5-10 years."
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 172eme
N.V. Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 172eme
Another excellent iteration of Champagne's greatest Non-vintage Cuvee, Krug's Grande Cuvee sets the bar and is an exceptionally consistent bottle. Krug Grand Cuvee is held to an incredibly high standard, masterfully crafted by the current and incredibly talented Chef de Cave Julie Cavil, who we tasted with personally when she was working at Piper-Heidsieck. Krug's Grande Cuvee is an outstanding Champagne that loves the cellar, developing a compounding complexity with time in the bottle while still being very enjoyable on release. The base vintage for the 172 edition is 2016, which is a lovely yet short vintage for Champagne and an incredible starting point for this cuvee. The Grande Cuvee is a careful selection of plots blended with reserve wine going back to 1998, contributing to about 42% of the blend. Around 131 vin clairs were blended by Julie Cavil to get the final blend, which comes to 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, and 26% Pinot Meunier. This was aged on the lees for about seven years and is a fantastic example of the Grand Cuvee. Krug is the ultimate expression of Non-Vintage Champagne, and this is another magnificent example from this prestigious house.
Decanter 97 points! "The 172ème édition, based around the 2016 vintage, is a delicate, floral and saline Grande Cuvée at this early stage in its life. The palate it taut, tightly wound, gradually unfurling into toasted fruit bread, rye bread and roasted nuts, wrapped around an intricate and taut lemon core. It's exceptionally long, spicy, rounded and spherical in shape. Notes of sweet unsalted butter round out the finish, which has such length, elegance and balance. 58% of the wine is from the 2016 vintage, which saw a lot of rain in the spring and close to flowering, with 42% from reserve wines. The blend is made up of 146 separately vinified wines from 11 different years, and the oldest wine in the blend is from the 1998 vintage."
Antonio Galloni 95 points! "The NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition is a gracious, sublime Champagne. Light citrus notes, white flowers, spice, marzipan and chamomile inflections all run through this delicate, nuanced Grande Cuvée. The 172eme is a Champagne of understatement and class that is very much a reflection of the base year. Brisk acids pull it all together. The Grande Cuvée is often quite accessible on release, but this is an Edition I would cellar for at least another year or two. It’s a fine effort from Krug. The 172ème Édition is a blend of 44% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier based on 2016 with reserve wines back to 1998."
Wine Advocate (Yohan Castaing) 95 points! "The new Krug release, the NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, based on the 2016 vintage and comprising 11 vintages in total (the oldest is 1998), is outstanding. It reveals a complex, slightly spicy bouquet of white fruits, beeswax, marzipan, hazelnuts, dried herbs, ripe orchard fruits and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated on the palate, it has a subtly spicy entry, an enrobing and layered texture and a fleshy core of fruit framed around a perfectly balanced, fresh and mineral finish. Crafted primarily from Pinot Noir (44%) and complemented with 30% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, it was disgorged in the first quarter of 2023 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter. Keep it for 5-10 years."
