Krug Grande Cuvee 170th Edition w/ Gift Box Brut NV - 1.5L Magnum -
(Champagne, France) - [VM 96] [JS 96] [DM 96] [JD 95] [WA 95] [WS 95]

About the Champagne House:
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.

About Krug Grande Cuvée:
Krug Grande Cuvée is born from the dream of one man, Joseph Krug, to craft the very best Champagne he could offer, every single year, regardless of annual variations in climate. Since 1843, the House of Krug has honoured this vision with each new Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée: the most generous expression of Champagne.

Krug Grande Cuvée is re-created every year, beyond the notion of vintage and is a blend of over 120 individual wines from more than 10 different years. The fullness or flavours and aromas achieved by this careful art of blending would be impossible to express with the wines of a single year.

About the 170th Édition:
Composed around the harvest of 2014, Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition is a blend of 195 wines from 12 different years. The youngest is from the year 2014 and the oldest dates back to 1998.

In all, reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 45% of the final blend, bringing the breadth and roundness so essential to each Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée.

The final composition of this champagne is 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 11% Meunier.

In all, over 20 years of careful craftsmanship were necessary to enjoy Krug Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition

Tasting Notes:

A light golden color and fine, vivacious bubbles, holding a promise of pleasure.

Aromas of flowers in bloom, ripe, dried and citrus fruits, as well as marzipan and gingerbread.

Flavors of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche and honey.

Ratings & Reviews

96 Points - Vinous Media:
"The NV Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition, (2014 base vintage) is rich, ample and explosive. Wonderfully fresh and vibrant, the 170 offers an exotic mélange of dried orchard fruit, pear, spice and crushed flowers. Chef de Caves Eric Lebel was not especially excited about 2014 when I saw him a few months after the harvest, as yields in Pinot Noir and Meunier were adversely affected. Perhaps for that reason the 170 contains more reserve wines than most editions. Regardless, the Krug team crafted an absolutely brilliant Grande Cuvée. The blend is 51% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 11% Meunier, vintages 2014 through 1998. Disgorged: Autumn 2021. Krug ID: 421062. (Drink between 2024-2044)." - Antonio Galloni (Nov 2023)

96 Points - James Suckling:
"This is full-bodied and very rich with lots of dried and fresh lemons with lemon curd and delicate Italian croissant. Fine and flavorful. Drink or hold."  (Jul 2023)

96 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"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 - Jeb Dunnuck:
"From vintages spanning from 1998 to 2014, the NV Champagne Grande Cuvee 170eme Edition is decadent and nuanced, with a rounded perfume of toasted brioche, lemon curd, and honeydew melon. Ripe yellow orchard fruits fill the palate with nectarine, fresh grapefruit pith, and a core of acidity. This is showing wonderfully now, although it still has the tension to go for the next 20 years." - Audrey Frick (Nov 2022)

95 Points - Wine Advocate:
"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." - William Kelley (Jun 2022)

95 Points - Wine Spectator:
"A lovely, mouthwatering Champagne, with a vivid and finely detailed panoply of baked nectarine, lime blossom, ground coffee, mandarin orange peel, candied ginger and salted almond notes set in a lithe, limber frame. Seamlessly knit, with a sense of buoyant vitality, this has a harmonious, elegant frame for the richly expressive flavor range. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Disgorged winter 2020 to 2021. Drink now through 2027." - Alison Napjus (Nov 2022)