I was invited to a small krug dinner on a lazy sunday this past weekend hosted by Rich Beaumont of LVMH/Krug. I was pretty excited as it gave me a chance to try 160e-166e. Apparently it was the first box released by krug with 161-166e put together and released (the 160 was separate).
We also had a smattering of Krug Brut, a magnum of the 06 base Rose and 04 Mesnil.
The stars of the show for me 96 Krug, 04 Mesnil and 164e.
If i have to rank the Grand Cuvees in any particular order it’d probably be 164 (by a long shot) - 160 - 166 - 165 - 161 -163 - 162
Thanks to Tilden/Richard for organizing and Rich for providing the opportunity to taste all the wines.
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 166eme - France, Champagne
Powerful bright acidity - extra fresh and clean fruit with a light toast. Kinda reminds me of where the 164 was on release but lacking that slight bit of extra oomph on the palate. Interesting to note, the oldest wine in this is from 1998. 160-165 had wine from as late as 1990. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 165eme - France, Champagne
Similar to the 166 with the powerful dose of acidity, but this has a rounder firmer mid palate with a riper sense of yellow orchard fruit instead of the clean crisp white fruit on the 166. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 164eme - France, Champagne
This wine is trudging along just fine, still one of the best young Grande Cuvees I’ve had. It takes from all the best of the vintages surrounding it and pits it together like a perfect finished puzzle. It had loads of clean bright fruit and bright lick smacking acidity. It’s structured and full without feeling ripe and weighty. Incredibly persistent fruit presence on the finish. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 163eme - France, Champagne
I didn’t love the 163 (or 07 base) on release. I felt it was too jagged, fruit was a bit too sour and it fell kinda flat to me. It’s really knit together well since then. It still doesn’t have the clean acid drive of the 164 (or 165/166) but it’s fleshing out, the fruit is generous and sweet and the mouthfeel is soft and yeasty. I don’t think it’ll age particularly well in comparison to the surrounding vintages, but it’s drinking well now. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 162eme - France, Champagne
Probably the most non descript one we had in the vertical. It had a nice cut of fruit to it, but nothing stood out. Had good concentration of fruit. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 161eme - France, Champagne
Really nice spot right now as it’s showing some age while still giving hints of where it’s going to develop. Has the weight of a champagne with some age on it and a fullness of yellow peach and dry citrus extract. -
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 160eme - France, Champagne
Really really good grand cuvee. Had it next to 04 Mesnil and 04 brut, it wasn’t slacking behind either of them. It mixes a bit of the purity of the chardonnay from Mesnil and then adds some body to it that reminds you a bit of the brut. It doesn’t have the drive and concentration of either of its siblings, but its completeness is what makes it so enticing. It’s powerful but well rounded.
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2004 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
I was kind of surprised by the overt concentration of fruit on the wine. It’s very forward, but not out of whack due to the fact that there’s this wonderful line of acid that reigns the ripeness of the wine in. Very structured and big bodied, I’m looking forward to see how the wine fills its frame as it integrates. Seemed more red fruited than white fruit driven. -
2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
corked =( NR (flawed) -
2002 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
I’m really liking where the 02 Krug is at. It’s lean, precise and focused. It’s still very youthful as it has an electric vibrant feel to the wine, almost like it’s bouncing around a room. The texture of the wine is really exciting. The acidity isn’t as intense as it was on release (nowhere near as intense as the 02 mesnil is now) but it’s still very very present. -
2003 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
I have a really tough time with this vintage. It’s really ripe to the point that it’s almost unpleasant. I expect more complexity with Krug. It’s a wine in overdrive but in a way that the mouthfeel feels disjointed. I had the 03 Mesnil a couple years ago and had a similar reaction, it almost has a chemical note to it on the finish as there’s quite a bit of bitterness. -
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut - France, Champagne
This wine just gets better and better.Picking up the butterscotch nose and ripe peach. Big, rich, vibrant on the palate. Deeply structured and broad with plenty of fruit and breadth to occupy and excite the body of wine. The yellow fruit component pushes and is persistent from the initial attack all the way to the finish. Still plenty of acidity keeping it lively without feeling too youthful.
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2004 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil - France, Champagne
I love how clean and driven the Mesnils are from Krug, especially in a vintage like 04 where the chardonnay shines so damn bright. The wines is elegant in its weight, but shockingly powerful on the palate with dry chalky white fruit that classic mesnil acid on the finish.
It’s definitely more accessible than the 02 Mesnil I had last week, which was a more acid driven champagne than this one is now. Not that the 04 is wanting for acid, it has plenty, but it also has a more prominent presence on the palate.
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NV Krug Champagne Brut Rosé Edition 19eme - France, Champagne
out of magnum: I enjoy Krug Rose way more out of magnum than 750 and 375. The candied ripeness of the red fruit is way less prominent and it allows the fleshier creamy mouthfeel and acid to play more in the forefront.
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