Still vibrant and focused, with plenty of dried apple, apricot, dried lemon, lime zest, pie crust, toast and flint. Powerful and structured. Tightly wound and deep. 43% pinot noir, 35% chardonnay and 22% pinot meunier, from 2013 to older vintages. 40% reserve wine. Needs time to come together completely. Drink or hold.
A sweet iodic and tense nose draws you in. Then out tumbles a deep current of tindery burnished fruit on the palate, ringing the gums. A little bitter and salty; very greengage. Pulsing and linear; youthfully austere even if the corners are cleverly silky. Stately depth and plenty of weight. Deceptively tight, this has all the structure and energy of fine wine; all its glory will reveal slowly over the next few years. 2013 increasingly reveals itself to me as a very good Champagne year and the influence is clear in this wine. Main harvest: 2013. 40% reserves. Aged for almost seven years on lees. Disgorged: Early 2021.
Based largely on the 2013 vintage, the NV Grand Cuvée 169eme Edition is another brilliant example of this Champagne that does everything right. Still young and tight, it reveals a vibrant bouquet of stone fruits, toasted bread, chalky minerality, and subtle nutty nuances. Quite fat and concentrated on the palate, this full-bodied beauty has a fine, silky mousse, wonderful balance, and a great, focused, chiseled finish. It's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly for 20+ years or more. This is gorgeous and certainly in the same league as the 168eme Edition.
One of the greatest hits of this label, Krug’s NV Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition continues to drink beautifully. Built around the 2013 harvest and incorporating 40% reserve wines dating back to 2000, it emerges from the glass with an aromatic spectrum of lemon oil, nashi pear and fresh apricot mingled with notions of almond paste, crème brûlée and burnt buttered toast. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, ample yet incisive, with a deep core of fruit, a bright spine of acidity and chalky structuring extract, concluding with a long, saline finish. Disgorged in early 2021 with a dosage of five grams per liter, it is beginning to pay the dividends that bottle age brings and should continue to develop very nicely. It is also—unsurprisingly, given the inclusion of a substantial reserve-wine component—more demonstrative than the 2013 Brut bottling.
A vivid Champagne, with a chiseled frame of acidity and a chalky underpinning cloaked in a fine mousse that caresses the palate with its gossamer-like texture. Lovely aromas of coffee liqueur, anise and verbena accent the layered flavors of tangerine, Macadamia nut, brioche and ripe plum, a profile that expands on the long, mouthwatering finish. There's power and expressive character to this, with a delicacy to its fine integration and length. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged winter 2020. Drink now through 2030.
Pinot richness dominates this Champagne. It gives the dense texture as well as the ripe white fruits that show signs of toastiness as they mature. This full-bodied Champagne is ready to drink.
Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is brisk and finely cut, with terrific energy driving the citrus, floral and light tropical notes. Even with all of its energy, the 169 balances the vibrancy of the late-ripening 2013 vintage it is built on, with the depth that the reserve wines added to the blend. The 169 drinks well now but clearly has the potential to age. The 169 is a blend of 146 separate wines back to 2000. Krug ID: 120003. (Originally published in May 2021)