Krug Grande Cuvee Edition 172 NV

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 172 Édition was composed around the harvest of 2016, a year of weather conditions so contrasted, they became a caricature of the climatic pendulum. An extremely wet spring, with 70% more rainfall versus the norm between April and June, made vineyard work difficult and increased disease pressure. Clement weather ensued from flowering onwards, allowing the vineyard to recover, ending with a heatwave at the end of ripening. The marathon harvest took place from September 9 to October 2 yielding classic grapes in good health and wines all about expression and character, regardless of grape variety or origin.

To create this Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée, the Cellar Master looked to accentuate the year’s elegantly diverse aromatic expressions with different plots’ reserve wines from 10 other years, giving it a unique fullness of flavours and aromas, impossible to express with the wines of a single year. The careful attention given to the vines and Krug’s unique respect for the individual character of each plot and its wine enabled the depth of expression of this Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée. It is the full orchestra, playing together the symphony of Champagne.

Reserve wines from the House’s extensive library made up 42% of the final blend, bringing the breadth and roundness so essential to each Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée.

The final composition of this Édition of Krug Grande Cuvée is 44% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 20% Meunier.

Tasting notes:
Color: A light golden colour and fine, vivacious bubbles, holding a promise of pleasure.

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

Palate: Flavours of hazelnut, nougat, barley sugar, jellied and citrus fruits, almonds, brioche and honey.

97/100 James Suckling
"Beautiful notes of dried citrus fruit, lemon curd and dried apples with hints of spices, dried flowers and subtle brioche. I like the polished and caressing texture and steady, refreshing acidity. It’s fresh and even austere, with notes of ground spices. So vertical and firm. Structured and long. Drink or hold."

Winery: Krug
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Classification: Non-vintage (NV)
Edition: 172

Krug Grande Cuvée 172 Edition是源自於Joseph Krug先生的夢想，他希望每年都能製作出他所能提供的最好的香檳，無論氣候年份的變化如何。自1843年以來，Krug酒莊以每個新的Krug Grande Cuvée Édition來紀念這個願景：這是香檳的最慷慨表達。

Krug Grande Cuvée 172 Edition是圍繞著2016年的葡萄收穫而調配的，這一年的氣候條件如此反差，成為氣候鐘擺的誇張。一個極為濕潤的春季，在4月至6月之間的降水量比正常情況多70％，使得葡萄園的工作困難，並增加了病害的壓力。從開花開始，天氣逐漸變好，葡萄園得以恢復，收穫季結束時出現了一次熱浪。這次長時間的收穫從9月9日持續到10月2日，產出了健康的經典葡萄和展現獨特表現和特色的葡萄酒，不論葡萄品種或產地。

為了打造這一版本的Krug Grande Cuvée，酒窖大師使用來自其他10個年份的不同地塊的保留酒，以突出該年份優雅多樣的香氣表達，賦予其獨特的口感和香氣，這是用單一年份的酒無法表現出來的。對葡萄藤的細緻關注和Krug對每個地塊及其葡萄酒個性的獨特尊重，使得這個版本的Krug Grande Cuvée能夠展現出深度的表達。它就像是完整的樂團，一起演奏著香檳的交響曲。

酒莊廣泛的保留酒庫佔了最終混合酒的42％，為Krug Grande Cuvée的每個版本帶來了必不可少的廣度和豐滿感。

這個版本的Krug Grande Cuvée最終的組成為44％黑皮諾、36％霞多麗和20％梅尼耶。

品嚐筆記：
顏色：淡金色，細膩活潑的氣泡，帶來愉悅的期待。
香氣：盛開的花朵、成熟的乾果和柑橘水果的香氣，以及杏仁糖和薑餅的香氣。
口感：榛果、牛軋糖、大麥糖、果凍和柑橘水果、杏仁、奶油麵包和蜂蜜的味道。

97/100 James Suckling：
「美麗的柑橘果乾、檸檬醬和乾蘋果的味道，帶有香料、乾花和微妙的麵包香氣。我喜歡它光滑、撫慰的質地和持續、清新的酸度。它新鮮甚至有點嚴肅，帶有香料的味道。

酒莊：Krug
國家：法國
地區：香檳
分類：非年份（NV）
版本：172