Krug - Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition MV

Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin

This new and wonderfully beautiful

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The NV Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition is a delightful blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Pinot Meunier and boasts an attractive and captivating aroma of dried fruits, pastry, lemon oil, marzipan, spring flowers and ginger, with hints of almond and vanilla notes that become more pronounced over time. This medium to full-bodied wine is precise and well-structured, with a fleshy core of fruit and a sapid, incisive finish. Crafted around the 2015 vintage, the blend comprises 131 reserve wines from as far back as 2000 (42% of the total blend) and is expected to age beautifully over the next decade.

Krug has just released two cuvées: the Grande Cuvée 171st edition, an exploration of the large universe of Krug, and the 27th edition of Krug Rosé.

The Grande Cuvée 171ème Edition is built around the 2015 vintage, but “the Chardonnays and Meuniers showed a little restraint,” said cellar master Julie Cavil. So, she included the 2008, 2013 and 2014 vintages to bring vivacity and tension. Furthermore, the cuvée has been enhanced by adding 131 wines from 12 different years, the youngest of which is the 2015, of course, and the oldest dating back to 2000.

The Krug Rosé 27ème Edition is a blend of 57% Pinot Noir, 23% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Meunier. It too was built around the 2015 vintage, with 55% of various reserve wines. This is a rosé champagne that is quite distinctive in the Krug world for its flamboyance and vibrancy, but it will have to be cellared for a few years before it can be fully appreciated.

Jeb Dunnuck

Spanning from 1998 through the 2015 vintage, the NV Champagne Grande Cuvée 171 is lush with a kaleidoscope of aromas including orange marmalade, toasted brioche, almond, and ripe peaches. Full-bodied and rounded, it has a hint of warmth on the finish, but it’s highly attractive, balanced, and long, with outstanding depth and richness. This fantastic expression of the Grand Cuvée is gorgeous right out of the gate and will be a great addition for collectors to enjoy over the coming two decades. Drink 2023-2043.

Decanter Magazine

Two years on from its disgorgement, this 2015-based edition has settled beautifully, showing all the sunniness of the base year with its mandarin and apricot plushness, surprisingly smooth and silky up front before settling into its broad, inviting range of praline, cappuccino and bitter almond aromatics and subtle fruit skin chewiness. It's a punchy, fulsome edition thanks to the base year's intensity, but it has been beautifully tamed into a characteristically suave and multilayered Grande Cuvée. A blend of 131 wines, with reserves back to the year 2000.

James Suckling

The tightness and tension of this is impressive considering the youngest wine from this is 2015 (hot and dry year), with some wines going back to 2000. Ginger and orange zest. Some creme brulee. It's medium-bodied with apple, pie crust and floral character. It's salty and zesty yet, at the same time, complex and gorgeous. Chamomile and other floral teas highlight everything. Turns rich and flavorful at the finish. Terrific release. Really takes off at the end. Drink or hold.

Grandes Escolhas

Falstaff

Pale golden yellow, silver reflections, fine, subtle mousse. A hint of orange zest, fine yellow apple fruit, a hint of greengage, with fine smoky herbal spice. Full-bodied, white peach fruit, a hint of nashi pear, racy acidity, lime touch, slightly salty on the finish, a well-balanced food wine with good grip, displays length and ageing potential.

Wine Enthusiast

Deliciously balanced, this Champagne is impressive. The iconic wine is in its 171st blend, meaning it combines vintages for the best result for each bottling, not a specific vintage. The 171st essence is dry, while also having fine textured fruit. This is a magnificent wine and worth aging for another year.

Wine Review Online

Joseph Krug created the Grand Cuvee to highlight the qualities of the best wines of each year. 171 eme Edition refers to the 171 first time the Grand Cuvee was produced. Each year, the wine is created to reflect the particular qualities of that harvest. This cuvee contains 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay and 18% Pinot Meunier, plus reserve wines from12 different years dating from 2000 to 2015. It is an elegant, yet powerful wine with tiny, energetic bubbles to lure your nose toward the glass to admire the aromas and flavors of ripe apple, pear, and citrus, with floral notes. It is lively, dry, and crisp in the mouth where the flavors will linger. (Rebecca Murphy)