Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne 171ème Edition

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.

Tasting Panel Magazine

A blend of 131 wines from 12 different vintages - the youngest being 2015, the oldest 2000 - this extraordinary beauty consists of 45% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay, and 18% Meunier. With all the easeful poise and underlying complexity of a Slim Aarons composition, it abounds in aromas of white flowers intertwined with brioche; preserved lemon and makrut lime; nuts (almond, pistachio); pie spice including cinnamon and ginger; and a smoky, almost salumi-like dash of cracked white pepper plus a whiff of earth. The entry is so cashmere-smooth and the finish so long that the palate seems - like its super-fine mousse - near-endless as it offers up grilled lemon, cream-splashed yellow plum, lime curd-topped biscuit, and a lithe throughline of salinity. It's the epitome of finesse.

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.

Falstaff

Light golden yellow in colour with silver reflections and a fine, delicate mousse. On the nose hints of orange zest, fine yellow apple fruit, some greengage, underpinned by fine smoky herbal spices. The palate is full-bodied with racy acidity, white peach fruit, a touch of nashi pear, and lime with a subtle salinity on the lingering finish. A balanced food wine that certainly has the potential for ageing. (11/5/23)

The Wine Front

Wine Spectator

A vivid Champagne, with chiseled acidity and a fine, vivacious mousse creating a buoyant frame for layered flavors of crushed black raspberry, grilled nuts, pink grapefruit sorbet and coffee liqueur, plus fragrant accents of ground ginger and anise, graphite and lime blossoms. Long and expressive on the finish, crackling with a lingering fleur de sel note. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. Disgorged winter 2022 to 2021.

Vivino