Grande Cuvée 172

The wine in this vintage

Grande Cuvée 172nd Edition revolves around the 2016 harvest, a bumpy season in Champagne: spring frosts, a very wet spell with heavy mildew pressure and, finally, a drier summer that allowed a quality crop, albeit a reduced one. In keeping with tradition, reserve wines from many different years gave the blend the depth and balance that define the house. The wine opens with citrus, white flowers, pear, nuts and a delicate bakery note, while the palate shows a fine mousse, lively freshness and a long, savoury finish. Edition 172 is already pleasurable today but still growing: a few years in the cellar will broaden its aromatic complexity.

The producer · Krug

Founded in Reims in 1843 by Joseph Krug, the house was built on an idea as simple as it was radical: to craft the finest Champagne possible every single year, regardless of the vagaries of the weather. That vision gave rise to Grande Cuvée, a blend of more than a hundred wines from different years and plots, drawn from one of the largest libraries of reserve wines in Champagne. Every plot is vinified separately in small, well-seasoned oak casks that let the wine breathe without marking it with wood, and time on the lees is among the longest in the region. Alongside its blends, Krug produces two legendary single-plot wines: Clos du Mesnil, a walled Chardonnay vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Clos d'Ambonnay, a tiny walled parcel of Pinot Noir. Now part of LVMH yet still shaped by the Krug family and its winemaking team, the house remains the benchmark for anyone who looks to Champagne for the depth, complexity and longevity of a truly great wine.

Critics' scores

• 98 Wine Enthusiast
• 97 James Suckling
• 97 Decanter
• 96 Wine Spectator
• 95 Robert Parker
• 95 Antonio Galloni

Technical details

Producer

Krug

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

172

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

96.33/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0610472