Krug Grande Cuvee 166eme Edition Brut Champagne 1.5L [D97][WA96+][JG95][WE95][WS95][V94]

Producer: Krug 
Region: Champagne, France 
Blend: 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 16% Meunier 
Year: Non-Vintage 

Decanter, 97 Points 

"45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 16% Meunier, blended from 140 wines dating from 1996 to 2010, including 42% reserves. Krug leads off where most other Champagne houses end, and its entry wine is every bit a prestige cuvée. It smells and tastes like no other wine, a monumental paradox of tense freshness, profound maturity and inimitable complexity. Decadently rich, extravagantly complex and thunderingly expansive, Grande Cuvée is a vinous Champagne of multifaceted personality, yet ever-heightened tension. For all it represents, spanning 25 years of production, it presents incredible value." 

Wine Advocate, 96+ Points 

"Compared to Krug's 160th edition, the bright golden-yellow colored NV Grande Cuvée 166ème Édition (ID117010) is still a baby that shows the chalky and fruity features of a young white Burgundy intermixed with notes of Schwarzwälder Kirsch (dark cherries with black chocolate) and floral (ammonia) flavors on the pure, fresh and elegant yet intense and still yeasty brioche nose with its ripe apple aromas and refreshingly bright (lemon juice) overtones. Round, wide and very elegant yet also straight and tense on the palate, this 2010-dominated cuvée is very delicate, fresh and chalky but also dense and lush in its vinous texture. The finish is well-structured, fresh and persistent, indicating great complexity and vibrancy. However, I would wait at least another three years, during which time the 166th edition will gain even more finesse and quiet. The 166ème Édition is composed of 140 wines from 13 different harvests between 1998 and 2010, and it's a blend of 45% Pinot Noir with 39% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier, the latter of which provides the vivacity that the Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs surprisingly didn't have in 2010, a vintage that was marked by its 'tumultuous climate,' as Eric Lebel writes." 

John Gilman, 95 Points 

"The bottle of the '166ème Edition' Krug Grand Cuvée that I reported on in the last issue of the newsletter had been delivered to my office on one of the hottest days of the summer. Consequently, though the wine showed very well indeed, I had a gnawing feeling that perhaps the scorching weather might have affected that bottle just a touch and I reached out to the folks at Krug to see if I could get another sample to report on for this article. I was glad that I did, for though the last bottle showed very well, there was more cut, grip and backend energy in this most recent bottle, which arrived on a far more temperate day. As I noted in the last article. The 166ème Edition is composed of a blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay and 16% Pinot Meunier. The wine is from the base year of 2010, but fully 42% of the cuvée is composed of reserve wines, with disgorgement done in the winter of 2017. The bouquet is superb, offering up notes of pear, apple, fresh-baked bread, a lovely base of soil elements, orange peel, gentle smokiness and a topnote of caraway seed. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and properly zesty, with an outstanding core of fruit, laser-like focus, refined mousse and outstanding length and grip on the complex and impeccably balanced finish. My previous bottle was just a touch more forward in personality, which I now attribute to the heat of its delivery day. Great juice." 

Wine Enthusiast, 95 Points 

"This is the latest incarnation of Grande Cuvée, now in its 166th edition. Toasty aromas signal an enticingly mature wine, rich with intense secondary flavors. It preserves the wonderful richness and the style of this producer. The wine is ready to drink now, but it will be also enjoyable for many more years. *Cellar Selection*" 

Wine Spectator, 95 Points 

"This mouthwatering Champagne feels like a swathe of raw silk on the palate, where flavors of sun-dried white cherry, toast and Meyer lemon peel are accented by expressive saffron, ground coffee and mandarin orange peel aromas. Long and racy on the honey-, spice- and smoke-laced finish. Disgorged winter 2017." 

Vinous, 94 Points 

"The nose of vibrant citrus fruit, brioche and yellow flowers is slightly yeasty in style but beautifully defined. That yeastiness transfers across to a weighty but balanced palate, which offers depth and grip with a bit of viscosity, and richness reined in by acidity. A touch of orange zest and hazelnut emerges on the finish, along with sufficient salinity to urge you back for another sip." 

Jancis Robinson, 18+/20 Points

"Savoury, rather Puligny-like nose. Very, very fresh, real zest on the palate which seems more youthful than the nose. Very punchy and fresh. Seems more youthful than the 167th Edition." 

Alcohol: 12.5% 

*Discounts do not apply to items like this one in the Fine & Rare category. Price and availability in store may vary.