Krug Grande Cuvee 172nd Edition Gift Set (750ml)
Product price
$299.99
Description
Krug's Grande Cuvée 172nd Edition is a non-vintage Champagne built on the 2016 harvest and enriched with reserve wines spanning back to 1998, giving it unusual depth for a house cuvée. The blend is anchored by Pinot Noir (44%), with Chardonnay (30%) and Pinot Meunier filling out the composition. It was disgorged in early 2023 with a restrained dosage of 4.5 grams per liter.
The wine opens with floral and white fruit aromatics, candied green apple, lime sorbet, fresh almond, layered with delicate spice, white flowers, beeswax, and marzipan. On the palate it shows medium to full body with a refined, slightly chalky texture, mouthwatering salinity, and brisk acidity that carries through to a long, mineral finish. As it develops in the glass, deeper notes of toast and crushed stone emerge, revealing the complexity that comes from blending across nearly two decades of vintages. This is a wine with room to evolve; while approachable now, it will deepen and integrate over the next several years and will reward patience in the cellar.
Expert Reviews
The NV Champagne Grande Cuvée 172 was created around the 2016 harvest year, and they enriched it with 146 wines dating from 2016 back to 1998. It pours a medium straw/yellow hue and is very pretty on the nose, with floral aromas leading out of the gate, followed by notes of candied green apples, fresh linen, lime sorbet, redcurrants, delicate spice, and fresh almond. It’s rounded and medium-bodied on the palate, with a refined, delicately chalky texture, even, mouthwatering saline, fresh lift, and a long, fresh finish. As it opens, it starts to show its deeper profile in the blend, with notes of toast and crushed stones. It’s a lovely addition to the range that will have a wide drinking window and improve with time over the next 20 years. Give it 3-4 years in the cellar. (Jeb Dunnuck, December 2024)
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. (Wine Advocate, October 2024)