Krug - Champagner Grande Cuvee 172eme Edition, brut in Box

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is most recent bottling of this iconic Champagne. There is a touch of toast as well as enticing apple and citrus aromas. On the palate, this wine is rich, intense, poised between maturity and ripe white fruits. It is a beautifully balanced wine, ready to drink."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Beautiful notes of dried citrus fruit, lemon curd and dried apples with hints of spices, dried flowers and subtle brioche. I like the polished and caressing texture and steady, refreshing acidity. It’s fresh and even austere, with notes of ground spices. So vertical and firm. Structured and long. Drink or hold."

DECANTER: "The 172ème édition, based around the 2016 vintage, is a delicate, floral and saline Grande Cuvée at this early stage in its life. The palate it taut, tightly wound, gradually unfurling into toasted fruit bread, rye bread and roasted nuts, wrapped around an intricate and taut lemon core. It's exceptionally long, spicy, rounded and spherical in shape. Notes of sweet unsalted butter round out the finish, which has such length, elegance and balance. 58% of the wine is from the 2016 vintage, which saw a lot of rain in the spring and close to flowering, with 42% from reserve wines. The blend is made up of 146 separately vinified wines from 11 different years, and the oldest wine in the blend is from the 1998 vintage."

FALSTAFF: "Helles Gelbgrün, Silberreflexe, feines Mousseux. Ein Hauch von Brioche und Blütenhonig, dezente Tropenfruchtnuancen, Mirabelle, kandierte Orangenschalen. Saftig und straff, Quitte im Abgang, floraler Nachhall, cremige Textur, mineralisches Finish, sicheres Reifepotenzial, sehr gute Länge, ein ungemein harmonischer Speisenbegleiter."

WINE SPECTATOR: " This classy Champagne waltzes across the palate with fluid poise and grace. The mousse's pointillismlike beads and a vivid frame of acidity buoy the detailed range of aromas and flavors, including chopped cherry, dried apricot, tangerine peel and plum cake notes, plus fragrant hints of grated ginger, lime blossoms, ground coffee and grilled nuts. A tang of salinity drives the racy, lingering finish. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Disgorged winter 2022 to 2023 (Krug ID 123003). Drink now through 2040."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The new Krug release, the NV Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition, based on the 2016 vintage and comprising 11 vintages in total (the oldest is 1998), is outstanding. It reveals a complex, slightly spicy bouquet of white fruits, beeswax, marzipan, hazelnuts, dried herbs, ripe orchard fruits and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated on the palate, it has a subtly spicy entry, an enrobing and layered texture and a fleshy core of fruit framed around a perfectly balanced, fresh and mineral finish. Crafted primarily from Pinot Noir (44%) and complemented with 30% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, it was disgorged in the first quarter of 2023 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter. Keep it for 5-10 years."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Gentle, creamy, pure citrus aroma and ever so subtly toasty. Clementine, jasmine. So many gorgeous layers. Hint of ginger. This is intense and piercing. Not bone dry, and the sweetness shows a little on the finish at the moment even if it is perfectly balanced. More perfumed as it opens in the glass but the autolytic character is gentle. Orange blossom. So much more perfumed than I expected. Slightly sweet-tasting on the finish."