Krug

Krug, Grande Cuvée, Edition, 172ND

Name: Krug, Grande Cuvée, Edition
Brand: Krug
Price: 1093.93 GBP

94/100

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

94/100

The Wine Independent

95/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

all 167TH 169TH 172ND

delivery

in bond

portfolio

172ND
6x75cl
DP
£1,093.93

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

The task of composing a new Grande Cuvée must be mind-boggling. For this, the 172nd Edition, Julie Cavil, Krug’s Cellar Master, has selected 146 different reserve wines spanning 11 different vintages (the oldest 1998) and threaded them together around the 2016 vintage. The potential permutations of such a blend are endless – no wonder there’s an official tasting committee to help decide the final composition. Producing the goods year in year out is an incredible feat, testament to quality of Krug’s vineyards, winemakers and blenders; rarely does a bottle not captivate the senses. This is a quintessential Krug, full of detail, structure, freshness and density. Its qualities embody the Krug Grande Cuvée style, though if we had to be ultra specific, we’d suggest this is a particularly generous, structured, and expressive rendition. It is quite simply a Champagne of the highest order, guaranteed to give pleasure now, or at any time over the next 10 to 20 years. Scratched essential citrus oils and fine toast and salt. Glorious savoury depth and essential oil character. This is inimitable Krug. Such deep citrus and toast and chalk over an extract heavy structure. Fine patisserie with some air - crisp flaky pastry - lemon flesh, white flowers and chalk. Lovely rich pink grapefruit flavours command the back palate. Juicy, bitter, mouthwatering. Impeccable - combining depth with chiselled vitality and the grip of structured dry extract. Long, extract laden yet fine. Its final composition is 44% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier. Reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 42% of the final blend.

delivery information

GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of upmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.

Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.

While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.

Further Reassurance

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

95/100

Antonio Galloni,

Vinous

The NV Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition, based on the 2015 vintage, is every bit as impressive as it was the last time I tasted it. Creamy, layered and resonant, the 171 is seriously impressive. The style is one that favors tension over volume. Lemon peel, white flowers and white pepper open first. Hints of marzipan, tangerine peel and spice add an exotic flair to this mid-weight, understated Grand Cuvée. Floral notes and bright acids perk up the finish. The 171 is wonderfully fresh and vibrant from start to finish. The blend is 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Meunier, vintages 2015 through 2000. Krug ID: 122013. Disgorged: Winter: 2021-2022.

drinking window 2024 - 2044

date of review 03/2024

94/100

Sarah Mayo,

The Wine Independent

Krug’s Grand Cuvee 171ème Edition is a 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Pinot Meunier barrel fermented assemblage of 131 wines from 12 years. The youngest and predominant base wine was from 2015, and the oldest reserve wines from 2000. This 171eme Edition reveals an aromatically complex nose of warm citrus, poached Anjou pear, dried apricots, lemon balm and toast. Medium to full-bodied, the palate balances a beautifully energetic acid frame alongside rich flavors of Meyer lemon, apple crumble and honeycomb with a kiss of vanilla before finishing long, generous and refreshing. According to the Krug iD122014 the bottle tasted was disgorged in the spring of 2020 and released a year later in 2021.

drinking window 2024 - 2038

date of review 11/2023

94/100

Yohan Castaing,

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The NV Grande Cuvee 171eme Edition is a delightful blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Pinot Meunier and boasts an attractive and captivating aroma of dried fruits, pastry, lemon oil, marzipan, spring flowers and ginger, with hints of almond and vanilla notes that become more pronounced over time. This medium to full-bodied wine is precise and well-structured, with a fleshy core of fruit and a sapid, incisive finish. Crafted around the 2015 vintage, the blend comprises 131 reserve wines from as far back as 2000 (42% of the total blend) and is expected to age beautifully over the next decade.

drinking window 2023 - 2040

date of review 06/2023

product details

Specifications

Country:

Region:

Appellation:

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style:

Grape Variety:

Chardonnay/Pinot Noir

abv:

12%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.