Grande Cuvée 172ème Édition NV

Champagne · Brut · Reims · 75cl

€249

Krug rebuilds its Grande Cuvée every year as a numbered edition. The 172nd blends 146 wines from eleven different years, from 2016 back to 1998, with reserve wines making up 42% of the final assemblage. Seven years in the cellars give a broad, layered wine: ripe citrus, almond paste and gingerbread on the nose; hazelnut, nougat, brioche and honey on the palate, and a long finish of candied fruit.

Founded in Reims in 1843 by Joseph Krug, the house keeps a library of more than 150 reserve wines, some over fifteen years old, and works more than 250 individual plots — among them the Clos du Mesnil and the Clos d’Ambonnay. The Krug iD on each back label traces the story of that bottle.

Blend: 44% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay, 20% Meunier
Composition: 146 wines from 11 years, 1998–2016
Reserve wines: 42% of the blend
Base harvest: 2016
Ageing: About seven years in the cellars