Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition

Vinous
Based on 2017, Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition is superb. It is an especially rich, almost opulent Grande Cuvée that very much reflects the personality of the base year in its tropical flavor profile. Lemon confit, baked apple tart, passion fruit, tangerine oil and spice are all beautifully amplified. The Krug team, led at the time by Chef de Caves Eric Lebel and current Chef de Caves Julie Cavil, did an exceptional job here. Krug ID: 124003.

Robert Parker
Krug’s recently unveiled NV Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition—accounting for approximately 80% of the house’s total production—performs well, particularly considering the challenges of the base vintage, 2017. That year saw considerable rot pressure in red varieties, making meticulous sorting essential; some lots deemed unfit for Krug’s standards were even diverted to distillation. The conceptual cornerstone of the Grande Cuvée is the use of the house’s vast library—drawing from some 500 options—to complement the base vintage and moderate the extremes of any given growing season. The 173ème Édition comprises 150 wines across 13 vintages, with the 2017 base making up 69% of the final assemblage. Disgorged in January 2024 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter, it opens with aromas of pear, golden apple, lemon curd and early white blossoms interlaced with a distant hint of nutmeg. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, textural and charming, laden with tangy acidity and animated by a pillowy mousse, and it concludes with a long, saline finish. Compared with its immediate predecessor, the 173ème Édition is broader and more giving, while the 172ème Édition tauter and more incisive. As experienced Krug aficionados will recognize, the inclusion of reserve wines—which may have undergone malolactic fermentation—renders the Grande Cuvée more immediately approachable than the house’s vintage-dated Champagnes, offering a more generous drinking experience on release.

James Suckling
Extremely complex, showing dried apples, light caramel, brioche and flint with cedar, nuts and hints of gunmetal. Integrated, caressing bubbles. Medium-bodied with a laser-guided, compacted and extremely long palate that focuses the character and the flavors. So deep and polished. Tangy at the end. Drink or hold.

Krug er uden tvivl et af verdens mest eksklusive Champagnehuse. Domænet er beliggende i Champagne-regionen i det nordøstlige Frankrig, og blev grundlagt i 1843 af tyskeren Johann-Joseph Krug. Hans drøm var at lave den bedste af den bedste Champagne, som kunne frigives hvert år uanset de årlige variationer i klimaet. En drøm som helt klart er gået i opfyldelse den dag i dag. Joseph Krugs filosofi, var at man ikke skulle opdele husets Champagne i hierarkier, og denne tankegang fastholder Krug i dag, hvor huset tilbyder syv forskellige Champagner, alle med deres helt eget udtryk, men uden at være opdelt i bestemte hierarkier. I stedet er det antallet af Champagnen, der bestemmer prisfastsættelsen.

Krug er Champagne med individualitet og stor personlighed. Som den nuværende kældermester Julie Cavil siger det bedst ”Vores job er, i en slurk at genforene den mest komplette sensoriske oplevelse, en Champagne kan tilbyde”. Noget som man i den grad må sige, at de lykkes med gang på gang hos Krug.

Champagnen gæres altid på egetræsfade, hvilket giver den karakteristiske rige, fyldige og nøddeagtige smag. Champagnen fra dette legendariske hus ældes med ynde og bør nydes ligeså.

Selvom domænet i 1999 blev solgt til luksuskoncernen Louis Vuitton-Möet-Hennessy (LVMH), er det stadig den sjette generation af Krug-familien Olivier Krug, der leder dette fantastiske Champagnehus. Dette er med til at sikre at husets autenticitet lever videre, og at Krugs Champagne stadig bliver lavet efter grundlæggeren Johann-Joseph Krugs principper.