Krug Grande Cuvee 168th Edition Champagne NV (1.5L)
Price: $800.00
Sale Price: $635.00
| Producer | Krug |
| Country | France |
| Region | Champagne |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Sku | 5514 |
| Size | 1.5L |
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."
John Gilman: 96+ Points
The new release of Krug Grande Cuvée “168ème Édition” is from the base year of 2012 with the reserve wines in the blend stretching all the way back to 1996. The final cépages has ended up as fifty-two percent pinot noir thirty-five percent chardonnay and thirteen percent pinot meunier. Forty-two percent of the blend is made up of reserve wines in this beautiful iteration of Grande Cuvée. The bouquet is superb wafting from the glass in a mosaic of apple white peach a touch of Clos du Mesnil-like fresh apricot almond a beautifully complex base of soil tones fresh-baked bread hints of the caraway seed to come and a whisper of buttery oak (which is particularly evident when the wine is first poured but quickly is subsumed in the other elements on the nose). On the palate the wine is pure full-bodied focused and very complex with a lovely core of fruit fine soil signature utterly refined mousse and a long perfectly balanced and very energetic finish. This is one of the most effortless and seamlessly balanced young releases of Grande Cuvée in several years and is utterly brilliant wine. 2020-2080. 96+.
vfcWine Advocate: 96 Points
Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 168ème Édition is a classic in the making wafting from the glass with aromas of dried fruits pear toasted nuts orange zest honeycomb and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied generous but incisive it's deep and elegantly fleshy with a beautifully refined mousse and an enveloping core of fruit that's complemented by the characteristic Krug patina of nutty complexity imparted by barrel fermentation. Even if this is more open out of the gates than the 2011-based 167ème edition the 168ème edition is also the more concentrated and intense of the two. It's based on the 2012 harvest complemented by fully 42% reserve wines?a blend of 198 wines from 11 different vintages dating back to 1996. Published: May 14 2020
Wine Spectator: 95 Points
A seamless Champagne effortlessly integrating a powerful spine of racy acidity with the detailed range of crème de cassis raw almond toasted saffron and candied ginger flavors. This is fine and silky in texture with a tang of salty mineral and rich hints of coffee toasted brioche and mandarin orange peel expanding on the finish. Disgorged winter 2018. Drink now through 2030. From France. —A.N.
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