#7 Top 100, 2016. The much-anticipated 2002 has impeccable detail and depth with a lot of chalky, stony and flinty elements on the nose as well as a very fresh edge. The nose is very complex and wound up tight but presents itself as very integrated and compressed. There are aromas of lemon rind, lime juice and lime custard all at once, complemented in turn by a super-restrained hazelnut-like edge. Undertones of brown mushrooms, chalky minerals and lemon leaf. The palate has a core of sizzlingly intense, concentrated chardonnay framed within a powerful phenolic structure that will underpin the future of this Champagne. There's also plenty of acidity for the future and this will no doubt continue to evolve and blossom; it will be merely an act of refining its already impressive focus, linearity and magical finish. This is really a great, great vintage for Krug. Flawlessly fresh and as perfect as it gets. Give this time as it needs to settle: best from 2020 and then for another decade beyond.
WE
100pts
Wine Enthusiast
#1 TOP 100 CELLAR SELECTIONS 2016. This is a fabulous wine from the greatest Champagne vintage so far this century. Still young, it blends almost equal amounts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fleshed out with Pinot Meunier. The minerality and the rich apple and green fruits are balanced, and acidity cuts into the wine with a pure, perfumed line of freshness. The wine could be drunk now, but it will age well into the the 2020s.
WNS
100pts
Wine & Spirits
This has the stamina of the 2002 vintage from the first scent, a fragrance like pear skin and butterscotch, and something fresher, like meadow flowers. All of that fragrance comes in a wine that’s expansive and dry, almost austere in the power of its acidity. Over the course of several days, the wine remains impervious to the fraying of oxidation, instead building on its flavors, deepening to scents of white truffles. Initially, the power of the acidity not only cleans up after the wine’s substantial flavor, but also seems to lash all those notes together and rocket them through a buzz of energy that lasts for minutes. That energy, undiminished four days later, when the bubbles have finally gone, takes on a gentler power, presenting the harmony and elegance at the center of the wine. The 2002 may well be the greatest vintage wine Henri Krug produced during his four-decade career.
The 2002 Krug is a riveting, incisive wine with a compelling complexity and length that set it apart. The richness is less prominent on the initial attack, but the aromas open with time to show the iconic Krug character that spans passionfruit, citrus, coconut, and smoke aromas with a surging mineral undercurrent. The wine is vibrantly dynamic on the palate, with enough extract to ensure a lengthy finish. The blend includes 40% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, and 21% Meunier, whose approachable floral notes suffuse the bouquet. The wine was disgorged in 2015 with an extra-brut dosage and will easily live another thirty years.
Krug's 2002 Brut (ID 415064 – disgorged IV/2015) has an intense citrus color and opens with a generous, intense yet fine and precise bouquet that indicates great depth and elegance. Red fruit flavors on the nose lead to a generously rich yet pure, highly refined and elegant palate, with lots of ripe cherry fruits and delicious yeasty flavors. This is a highly complex and tensioned but beautifully balanced 2002 with a charming dosage that gives perfect roundness. The finish, however, is clear, fresh and well-structured, if not taut, and very mineral. Tasted in Reims in April 2018.
Beautifully aromatic, this leads with aromas of ground clove, coffee liqueur and mandarin orange peel, adding crystallized honey, dried cherry, acacia blossom and toasted brioche notes on the expansive palate. Rich in flavor and broad in structure, with verve driving this through to the long, satiny finish. Drink now through 2027. (Collectible)
There is a subtle phenolic character to the secondary-tinged yet super-fresh nose reflects notes of baked bread, yeast, pear, baked apple, spice and a hint of citrus. The bold and full-bodied flavors possess superb complexity while being underpinned by a notably fine but dense mousse, all wrapped in a gorgeously persistent finish. This full-bodied effort is seriously impressive and one that is aging effortlessly though for my taste, it could certainly be enjoyed now.