Krug Grande Cuvee Brut (164th Edition)
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James
Suckling -
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Wine &
Spirits -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
You may also notice its exceptional freshness in the mouth, with rich and tangy flavors of lemon and grapefruit enhanced by the subtlety of its fine and elegant bubbles.
Krug Grande Cuvee Edition 164 lends itself to a plethora of culinary combinations, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from an extra mature parmesan to a dish of turbot a la truffe.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Intense and complex, with lots of buttered toast, salted caramel, apricot compote, raspberries, praline, marmalade, white chocolate and preserved lemons. So much packed in the broad, deep and rich palate, yet bound together with sharp acidity and tight bubbles. So long and generous. 48% pinot noir, 35% chardonnay and 17% pinot meunier. Blend of 127 wines from 11 vintages, based on 2008 and going back to 1990.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Krug Grande Cuvée always comes to the table in a big way. From one of the most prestigious Champagne houses, this wine is consistently a top performer. Creamy, complex, and exotic, it is a perfect choice with the grandest of meals. (Tasted: October 10, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
A seamless Champagne, with vibrant acidity and flavors of toasted almond, baked currant and golden raisin. Long and mouthwatering, with a finely detailed bead carrying the flavors to the lasting finish, with accents of spice, pastry cream and coffee. Disgorged spring 2016. Drink now through 2027.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Harmonious and supple, the NV Champagne Grande Cuvee 164 spans the vintages of 1998 through 2008 and has all the components of a truly great Grand Cuvee. Opening in the glass to notes of preserved Meyer lemon, white peach, almond croissant, and incense, on the palate the wine is custardy and rounded, with a gorgeous pillowy mousse. Full-bodied and long, all its structure works in concert, with nothing sticking out, and it has a flourish of white pepper spice on the finish. This is a truly stunning Champagne.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Based on the 2008 vintage complemented by some 22% reserve wines, Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 164ème Edition opens in the glass with notes of warm bread, crisp yellow orchard fruit, mandarin, buttered toast and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and textural, it's rich and vinous but incisive, with fine depth at the core, tangy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse. More complete than its vintaged sibling in 2008, it does share some of the latter's reserve and is still a few years from its peak, even if it's already approachable with great pleasure now.
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Decanter
Beguiling complex colour of twinkling green/gold lights. Inimitably Krug, masterly blending. The Chardonnay scents are at once refined yet dripping in the aroma of crunchy Williams pears. Discreet notes of vanilla, crème pâtissière, spiced lemon and brioche. Then a mouthfeel of body and heft; great Pinot Noir that is miraculously filigreed and ethereal, plus Pinot Meunier succulence. Like no other Champagne.
Rating: 95+
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Wine & Spirits
A brisk and powerful release of Grande Cuvée, this has the masculine charm of a linebacker as it pummels the palate with lime and seashells, lemon and tangerine flavors. The wine’s intensity and richness has a mouthwatering effect in the finish, lasting in resonant layers of flavor—powerful, yet gracious in the end.
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Wine Enthusiast
With its minimum of six years' bottle aging, this is a beautifully integrated, mature wine. It has a wonderful toast character, layered over sliced pears and ripe acidity. With its complex poise between lightness and richness, this remains an intensely impressive wine.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Non-vintaged though it may be, this wine has in the past shown as one of the older cuvees in our tastings, and so again does it do so here. This time, as one expects of Krug, the aged, toasty, minerally character is accompanied by bright, acid-braced, still evident fruit. One might quibble about a bit of chalkiness in the finish.
Krug has always lived up to its reputation as the first and only Champagne House to create exclusively prestige Champagnes every year since its foundation.
The House was established in Reims in 1843, by Joseph Krug, a visionary non-conformist with an uncompromising philosophy. Having understood that the true essence of Champagne is pleasure itself, his dream was to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Paying close attention to the vineyard’s character, respecting the individuality of each plot and its wine, as well as building an extensive library of reserve wines from many different years allowed Joseph Krug to fulfil his dream.
With a very original approach to Champagne making, he decided to go beyond the notion of vintage to create the most generous expression of Champagne, every year. Thus, he founded a House in which all Champagnes are of the same level of distinction.
Six generations of the Krug family have perpetuated this dream, enriching the founder’s vision and savoir faire.
Further elaborating on the notion of individuality, for Krug’s Cellar Master Julie Cavil, each plot of grapes, through its wine, is like a single ingredient to a chef: carefully selected, and critical to the final composition. Each year, Krug honors this philosophy by inviting chefs from around the world to interpret a single ingredient, crafting unexpected recipes to pair with a glass of Krug Grande Cuvée or Krug Rosé. This year’s ingredient is the Onion.
The unspoken onion is a key component of almost every fundamental recipe from stocks, sauces and stews to baked goods and roasts. Its multifaceted expressions beautifully marry both the fullness of flavors and aromas of Krug Grande Cuvée the elegance and boldness of Krug Rose.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’