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Friday, August 12th, 2022
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New Krug "Grande Cuvée"
Continues to Blow Them Away!
Limited 170th Edition
"Wonderful precision and depth right away on the nose... Vivid, driven acidity adds focus and perfection. Dried lemon and a wonderful, creamy texture with a mineral undertone. Extremely long, almost endless. Sophistication here. Drink or hold."
96 Points, James Suckling
"...the creaminess goes on. Rich but light on its feet. A definite buy and a keeper...a triumph of blending"
96 Points, Decanter
"...aromas of pastry cream, dried fruits, pear, warm spices, freshly baked bread and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fine-boned, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a precise, chiseled profile."
95 Points, Robert Parker's WA
"195 ingredients in the blend, more than usual, with wines from 12 different years back to 1998. Extremely lively and brisk. But it’s actually readier than most young Grandes Cuvées I have tasted at this relatively early stage with sumptuous texture actually. Very clean and fresh. Bone dry but broachable and quite charming within the Krug ethos. Really quite friendly. One of my favourites of this line-up!"
18/20 Points, Jancis Robinson
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"The Grande Cuvée is the ultimate expression of Krug’s blending prowess—its symphony orchestra. It is, again, three grapes, and it’s created around the most recent harvest, which means the majority of the blend comes from the single recent year. But at Krug, most Grande Cuvées blend the base year with reserve wines from 10 to 12 older vintages (versus as few as one to two older vintages for the NV versions from other producers). Krug’s reserve wines are a selection from a given year’s 250 wines, held back in order to create future Grande Cuvées. If you do the math, there could potentially be thousands of individual wines to consider."
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Dear Artisans,
No one wants to hear any more about the supply chain for imports, so I'm only writing one sentence:
We're doing everything in our power to avoid what happened during last year's holiday season when Krug was needed for gifting and celebrations and wasn't available.
This includes bringing attention to the 40 bottles we have right now, in August.
For me personally, being uncertain about stock availability is something I detest. Alas, as your kids might say, it is what it is...
The 170th edition of Krug's Grande Cuvee is their most intense yet. Here's why it's powerfully awesome:
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The 195 different wines that make 45% of this span across 3 decades, as far back as 1998. 2014 is only the youngest. They even used the hedonistic 2003 vintage, for added effect.
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Krug then aged this on the lees for a full seven years before release.
- It doesn't matter if you prefer brighter Blanc de Blancs (like Taittinger Comtes) or hugely rich, toasty, Pinot Noir-forward (like Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill) because this has it all. And then some.
- If you can somehow resist devouring all of your bottles: around 2030 they will become the most gloriously sumptuous and complex wine you'll ever experience.
James' Champagne PRO TIPS:
- I wouldn't go as far as decanting it, but this will evolve and unfurl after 30 minutes. Just pay attention and you'll see!
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DON'T serve it too cold, or in a narrow flute. Doing both is like setting money on fire.
- Your fridge is likely 37°F, thus your wine is 37°F if left overnight or for several hours. NOT IDEAL!
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You need to target between 54°F and 57°F, all the while enjoying the process of finding your preference. So let the bottle sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes before you pour. You will smell, taste, and feel SO much more.
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Enjoy up to 50% off the Riedel Veritas Champagne Glass, which is without question, the best. Master Sommeliers, French Laundry, Protege Palo Alto, and similar all use this glass.
This wine is "a triumph of blending" according to Decanter Magazine's Tim Hall, who had this to add:
"The 170th edition, or the ‘new baby’ as cellar master Julie Cavil put it, is mostly 2014 (55%), which was a difficult year. Yet the wine is a triumph of compensation, a blend of 195 wines from 12 different years, buttressed heavily (45%) by 2013 reserve wines." You can read his full article on the new release here.
We have 40 bottles in the house—not enough to go around!
Cheers,
—James Tran
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Krug "Grande Cuvée" 170 ème Brut Champagne
96 Points - James Suckling:
"Wonderful precision and depth right away on the nose, with dried pineapple, light apricot and hints of flint and slate. Medium-bodied palate that’s firm, bright and linear. Vivid,driven acidity adds focus and perfection. Dried lemon and a wonderful, creamy texture with a mineral undertone. Extremely long, almost endless. Sophistication here. Drink or hold." (July 18th, 2022)
96 Points - Decanter:
"A lovely ferny nose and breezy seaside raciness. Bright yellow fruit on entry, a flicker of preserved lemon and cooked quince adding vibrancy. Then comes the Krug richness which spreads over the palate. The balance hovers tantalisingly between tactile precision and soft warm fruit and the finish reveals layers of cinnamon-tinctured blancmange, and the creaminess goes on. Rich but light on its feet. A definite buy and a keeper. The 2014 base harvest was hit by sour rot and mildew in mid-summer. Intense selection meant Krug had to reduce the amount of Meunier to half its Grande Cuvée average, and reserve wines (representing 45% of the final wine) back to 1998 buttress the balance and complexity; a triumph of blending. It also relies heavily on 2013 to add life and structure. Main harvest: 2014. 45% reserves. Aged for six years on lees. Disgorged: Spring 2021." - Tim Hall (Apr 2022)
95 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition is based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by some 45% reserve wines dating back to 1998, with the house drawing on, among many others, 2013 for structure and 2012 and 2003 for generosity. Opening in the glass with aromas of pastry cream, dried fruits, pear, warm spices, freshly baked bread and vanilla pod, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fine-boned, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a precise, chiseled profile. But if the latter adjective could be applied to the 2013-base 169ème édition equally felicitously, the 2014-base 170ème is more giving and less tightly wound out of the gates and will offer more demonstrative drinking young." -WK (6/2022)
18/20 Points - Jancis Robinson:
"195 ingredients in the blend, more than usual, with wines from 12 different years back to 1998. Recreated round the 2014 harvest, which constitutes 55% of the blend. 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay, 11% Pinot Meunier. Dry and hot alternated with rainy periods. Marvellous flowering. Drosophilia attack – smelt vinegar in the vineyard. But post sorting there were some good grapes. Main problem was a lack of structure so they leant heavily on 2013 (cold, late harvest with lots of freshness and structure).
Lots of acidity! Extremely lively and brisk. But it’s actually readier than most young Grandes Cuvées I have tasted at this relatively early stage with sumptuous texture actually. Very clean and fresh. Bone dry but broachable and quite charming within the Krug ethos. Really quite friendly. One of my favourites of this line-up!" (4/27/22)
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