NV Krug Grande Cuvee (2 each 2004 2005 2006 release)
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Tasting notes
Bearing the inaugural Grande Cuvée label, which was used from 1978 to 1982, this bottle of Krug's NV Brut Grande Cuvée (1978-1982) offers up a deep bouquet of honeycomb, spices, dried citrus peal, toasted bread, lemon oil and walnuts. Full-bodied, layered and textural, it's built around an incisive spine of acidity, with fine depth at the core and a long, mineral finish. This is a little firmer and more structural than the more pillowy, charming mid-1980s Grande Cuvée that I tasted alongside it.
Critic scores
Richard Juhlin
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
ID 111004 bottled in the winter of 2010/11. Blend of 121 wines from 2004 back to 1990. Meaty nose with great drive and complexity. Bone-dry finish. (JR)
This was disgorged before the new ID codes were introduced in 2012, and no lot number I can find on the bottle. Very nervy, complex and assertive on the nose with more obvious acidity than the Egly Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru disgorged in May 2012 tasted alongside. Tight and yeasty – it almost suggests it should be decanted before being served! Very tense. (JR)
(roughly 45% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier; I.D. 421044; LLLMXE): Light gold. Nectarine, poached pear, toasted nuts, anise and buttered toast on the complex, mineral-tinged nose. Deeply concentrated but energetic and precise as well, offering sappy orchard and pit fruit flavors along with notes of brioche and marzipan. A bitter citrus pith note adds definition to the impressively long, smoky finish. Shows more power and heft than I've experienced from this bottling in recent years.
About the producer
Krug is a remarkable Champagne House which only makes prestige cuvées. The wines – with their distinctive rich, complex, oxidative style – are some of the region’s best.