Krug
Grande Cuvee 171eme Edition Brut
Champagne
NV

The producer

In the constellation of stars of Champagne, Krug must be the brightest. Certainly, the most expensive as Krug often starts where the others peak and is today the only Champagne house to make only prestige champagnes every year since its foundation in 1843. The single vineyard wines are up there among the finest from Bordeaux and Burgundy in both quality and price.

Much is made of the mystery of the Krug quality and consistency. They only own 35% of the vineyards that produce the wines but have very close relationship with their 100-odd growers. They effect 250 separate fermentations each vintage, initially in seasoned oak (but they downplay any unique influence therefrom), building a unique collection of over 150 reserve wines whence the blend for Grand Cuvee wines are produced.

The range extends from Grand Cuvee, Rose, and Vintage to the individual vineyard wines from arguably the best villages for Chardonnay with its Clos de Mesnil, and Pinot Noir with Clos d’Ambonnay. Rigorous selection, fastidious winemaking, and a touch of genius in blending make Krug the undisputed king of Champagnes.

The wine

Krug Grande Cuvée is the fullest expression of the house style, drawing on multiple harvests to achieve a breadth and complexity beyond the reach of a single vintage. The 171ème Édition is built around the 2015 harvest and brings together 131 wines from 12 different years, the oldest dating back to 2000. Reserve wines account for 42% of the blend, while the grape varieties comprise 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and a substantial 18% Pinot Meunier.

Around seven years in Krug’s cellars brings together layers of toasted bread, marzipan and dried fruit, lifted by citrus and floral notes. There is the richness and generosity expected of Krug, with lemon freshness carrying the long finish. Already rewarding to drink, this is also a Champagne for the cellar, where further ageing should develop its nutty, toasty complexity.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.