not blind Today almost on eye level with Clos du Mesnil 2002. Some red berries and a discreet chocolate note. Still amazing fresh but I think it will age a bit quicker than the BdB. 98
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A private tasting and dinner (Restaurant Fitzgerald *, Rotterdam, NL): A very rare magnum. Incredibly impressive. The tension, power and elegance are mind-boggling, the balance and harmony are effortless, the interplay of primary minerally energy and rich evolved complexity is dazzling, the purity and precision are hard to believe in such a concentrated wine, the silky texture is supported by engaging bitters, and the drive and length on the finish with a whiff of orange zest are beyond compare. Perfection.
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Technically brilliant but very young right now. Incredible power and tension. Sharp and precisely focused. Laser beam persistent intensity. Tuning fork acidity. Tight mousse and sharp effervescence. Clearly all Pinot with a concentrated red berry and darker fruited core. One could confidently decant this Champagne. Developed some more honeyed and sweet notes towards the end when it was also opening and lightening up. Highly detailed and complex. Expressive but doesn’t necessarily leap from the glass. This is complex and requires a lot of your attention on the nose; palate is a punch in the mouth. Again, technically brilliant and a masterpiece wine, but I like a Chardonnay cream and toast in my Champagne and I think for the price I’d take two Mesnils. Always a special occasion to try one.
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Kleur: Medium goudgeel Aroma / bouquet: Zeker in vergelijking met de 02 Mesnil is dit de meer expressieve en stoere broer met een aangenaam tertiair bouquet met vuursteen, een zekere 'rokerigheid'. Smaak / Afdronk: Volle, rijke en qua mondgevoel licht filmende champagne. Rijpe en rijke stijl, indrukken van rood fruit, brioche, geroosterde nootjes en noga. Algemeen / potentieel: De andere 'single-clos Champagne' van Krug, gemaakt van 100% Pinot Noir. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 97/100
Colour: Medium golden yellow Aroma / bouquet: Especially compared to the 02 Mesnil, this is the more expressive and tough brother with a pleasant tertiary bouquet with flint, a certain 'smokiness' . Taste / Aftertaste: Full, rich and slightly filmy champagne in terms of mouthfeel. Ripe and rich style, impressions of red fruit, brioche, roasted nuts and nougat. General / Potential: Krug's other 'single-clos Champagne', made from 100% Pinot Noir. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Aftertaste: 19 + General / potential: 9 = 97/100
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minimal notes. - an electric wine. luckily had the CDM and the vintage the night before. Think CDM slightly in a better place now. Though delicious right away it is a sharp wine and very precise. CDM more giving currently. Drank over 3 hours. Last sip was the best sip
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Visually a golden/copper colour in the glass. It makes an immense entry with razor sharp, rich but dry pinot fruit. It is totally typical Krug style with the right touch of oxidative notes but the clearly supreme fruit here pushes this more in the background as would otherwise be the case. The pedigree of this is absolute top drawer like a thoroughbread. It is immensely enjoyable today already with not an ounce of flash to spare, the perfectly honed athlete. Helpful context in this great flight were the Klos Mesnil 04, Krug 02 and 96 vintage - all of which showed really well - but no question that the Ambonnay was boss. Bona fide probably the best (youngish) non rose champagne I have ever had (including rose it's the Cristal 08 rose that ranks on top for me still but those two are totally different animals of course).
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Unsurprisingly another great Ambonnay. Some reviewers have suggested it’s too young to enjoy properly but I don’t agree. Youthful, sure, and will develop further but wonderful now for its silky texture, elegance and sheer beauty. Gentle mousse, beautiful couronne. There’s a bass note of tasty rhubarb to let you know it’s Pinot Noir yet it’s still filigree without a trace of heaviness. Only medium persistence though so you don’t want to let your mind wander as you gratefully sip this nectar.
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blind Nailed it. The finish is not that precise as the vintage and especially CdM. Red berries, milk chocolate and lime zest. Roasted nuts. I would keep it for a decade but not for 2-3 decades as the CdM 2002. 96-97
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blind I guessed CdA 1996. Cracking acidity, some discreet red berries and nougat note. Lemon driven. Par level with CdM maybe a mini step back this time. 98-99
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Tasted next to the 90 Cdm. Initially brioche with much more citrus fruit leaning notes. With air the sweet orchard fruit comes out. The fruit is very dense and it coats your palate, but is offset by searing acidity. Beautiful balance as it opens up with a creamy rounded finish. Really great to see that delicate balance of weight/complexity offset by freshness of fruit/acid.
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Red-fruited. Deep and powerful. This was mellower and more easy-going than bottles 1 and 2 years ago, which were incredibly intense and energetic and also a bit more impressive.
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This was just the right amount of good: good enough that I’m happy I tried it, not good enough that I would seriously consider spending another $2k on another bottle. It’s an excellent wine — very Krug profile, elegant but powerful, finish goes on forever. I might have trouble telling it from 02 vintage Krug blind (if anyone wants to set me up with that tasting let me know) — very similar but with more of that grape candy Pinot nose and maybe more toast.
Did I mention how long the finish is? It’s unreal.
Update after a day of reflection and a bottle of Grand Cuvée: the finish on the Ambonnay is unmatched. Adding another point to the rating
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blind guessed right and was "easy" to detect after CdM 2004. Krug perfume but more power and red berries fruit. Less honey and lemon tart. Density is unbelivable. At least for the next 20 years. Both CdM and CdA 02 are perfect champagnes now and in the future.
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blind In different flights together with Millesime 2002 and CdM 2002. The density is unbelievable. Red berries, cracking acidity and balance. You feel the power which is not completely evolved. More to come. 98+
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Krug vertical and horisontal tasting and lunch with Margareth Henriquez (Geranium): 1. wine in the 2002 flight. Extremely closed right now. Needs in my opinion many years for further development. My rating is based on the performance right now. The wine has received extremely high scores from different well known tasters - I presume this is based is based on the potential
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My first ever time trying this very rare release from Krug. Opened an hour in advance and served in a large burgundy glass. Lemon colour woth medium intensity fine bubbles. Honey, toast and green apples. Dry. Full bodied. Long finish. High acidity. Structured. Complex. Balanced. Youthful and ready, but will last. Reminds me of a Bollinger VVF 2002. This was a superb treat to try. And possibly the biggest champagne I have tried. CK40 birthday.
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Legends (MG): blind I had this bottle by accident blindly one week before. Same nose and I thought the same: P2 or P3 DP from the 70ies. Very reductive in the nose after oystershell and seabreeze. After 5 minutes more Krug perfume and a blindblowing concentration and power. Great acidity. side by side blindly with CdM 2002. This time CdM is just a hint in front. More elegant and more precise but I think it is more academically. The first CdM was opened a day before, the second at the ame day. The second bottle was out of this world. 98(99)
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Spontaneous Ultra Tasting: Blind I guessed CDM 2002, even it was more vpluptous in nose and palate. Less "elegant" but more pleasant in the front palate. Black currant, some chocolate and may be the most concentrated champagne I had, similar to CdA 1996. I don't know if it will age similar to CdM but this wine is in a few years a mindblowing champagne. 99-100
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Just released and drank in a full vertical of d'Ambonnay (95, 96, 98, 00 and 02). Awesome energy and verve. Strong acidity but not out of balance. Great lemon and toast with plenty of minerality and chalky notes. Some brioche and creme brulee. This is easliy a 50+ year wine with plenty of upside.
1/18/2024 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
not blind, side by side with 1996
The "winner". Fresher, crispier, elegant and more precise. Lot of fun to drink it. 99
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12/12/2023 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
blind
I was lost in the beginning. Thought about VVF 2008. No aging signs. No chocolate. A monster but I would go with the 96 CdA I had last week. 98
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12/7/2023 - bookert wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful pinot champagne, v open. Perhaps lacking a bit of structure for ageability.
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11/28/2023 - aquacongas wrote: 98 Points
not blind
Today almost on eye level with Clos du Mesnil 2002. Some red berries and a discreet chocolate note. Still amazing fresh but I think it will age a bit quicker than the BdB. 98
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9/27/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 100 Points
A private tasting and dinner (Restaurant Fitzgerald *, Rotterdam, NL): A very rare magnum. Incredibly impressive. The tension, power and elegance are mind-boggling, the balance and harmony are effortless, the interplay of primary minerally energy and rich evolved complexity is dazzling, the purity and precision are hard to believe in such a concentrated wine, the silky texture is supported by engaging bitters, and the drive and length on the finish with a whiff of orange zest are beyond compare. Perfection.
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8/26/2023 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
Austere and just missing fun. Don’t get these. (02385)
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5/23/2023 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 95 Points
Technically brilliant but very young right now. Incredible power and tension. Sharp and precisely focused. Laser beam persistent intensity. Tuning fork acidity. Tight mousse and sharp effervescence. Clearly all Pinot with a concentrated red berry and darker fruited core. One could confidently decant this Champagne. Developed some more honeyed and sweet notes towards the end when it was also opening and lightening up. Highly detailed and complex. Expressive but doesn’t necessarily leap from the glass. This is complex and requires a lot of your attention on the nose; palate is a punch in the mouth. Again, technically brilliant and a masterpiece wine, but I like a Chardonnay cream and toast in my Champagne and I think for the price I’d take two Mesnils. Always a special occasion to try one.
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11/18/2022 - WildeMeeuw wrote: 97 Points
Kleur: Medium goudgeel Aroma / bouquet: Zeker in vergelijking met de 02 Mesnil is dit de meer expressieve en stoere broer met een aangenaam tertiair bouquet met vuursteen, een zekere 'rokerigheid'. Smaak / Afdronk: Volle, rijke en qua mondgevoel licht filmende champagne. Rijpe en rijke stijl, indrukken van rood fruit, brioche, geroosterde nootjes en noga. Algemeen / potentieel: De andere 'single-clos Champagne' van Krug, gemaakt van 100% Pinot Noir. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Smaak / Afdronk: 19 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 97/100
Colour: Medium golden yellow Aroma / bouquet: Especially compared to the 02 Mesnil, this is the more expressive and tough brother with a pleasant tertiary bouquet with flint, a certain 'smokiness' . Taste / Aftertaste: Full, rich and slightly filmy champagne in terms of mouthfeel. Ripe and rich style, impressions of red fruit, brioche, roasted nuts and nougat. General / Potential: Krug's other 'single-clos Champagne', made from 100% Pinot Noir. 50 + Color: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 14 + Taste / Aftertaste: 19 + General / potential: 9 = 97/100
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11/15/2022 - fatboi Likes this wine: 97 Points
minimal notes. - an electric wine. luckily had the CDM and the vintage the night before. Think CDM slightly in a better place now. Though delicious right away it is a sharp wine and very precise. CDM more giving currently. Drank over 3 hours. Last sip was the best sip
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7/15/2022 - BenBlu Likes this wine: 99 Points
Visually a golden/copper colour in the glass. It makes an immense entry with razor sharp, rich but dry pinot fruit. It is totally typical Krug style with the right touch of oxidative notes but the clearly supreme fruit here pushes this more in the background as would otherwise be the case. The pedigree of this is absolute top drawer like a thoroughbread. It is immensely enjoyable today already with not an ounce of flash to spare, the perfectly honed athlete. Helpful context in this great flight were the Klos Mesnil 04, Krug 02 and 96 vintage - all of which showed really well - but no question that the Ambonnay was boss. Bona fide probably the best (youngish) non rose champagne I have ever had (including rose it's the Cristal 08 rose that ranks on top for me still but those two are totally different animals of course).
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6/25/2022 - sdr Likes this wine: 95 Points
Unsurprisingly another great Ambonnay. Some reviewers have suggested it’s too young to enjoy properly but I don’t agree. Youthful, sure, and will develop further but wonderful now for its silky texture, elegance and sheer beauty. Gentle mousse, beautiful couronne. There’s a bass note of tasty rhubarb to let you know it’s Pinot Noir yet it’s still filigree without a trace of heaviness. Only medium persistence though so you don’t want to let your mind wander as you gratefully sip this nectar.
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4/23/2022 - aquacongas wrote: 97 Points
blind
Nailed it. The finish is not that precise as the vintage and especially CdM. Red berries, milk chocolate and lime zest. Roasted nuts. I would keep it for a decade but not for 2-3 decades as the CdM 2002. 96-97
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3/26/2022 - Hanibal Likes this wine: 92 Points
Seemed too young at this stage. Remained held back even after 4 hours in the glass. Not worth the price asked for in my opinion
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3/12/2022 - Burgundy Al wrote: 95 Points
La Paulée de New York Gala Dinner (Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers - New York NY): Very small La Paulee pour. Rich and rounded textures, a real powerhouse, nicely bright finish.
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2/19/2022 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
blind
I guessed CdA 1996. Cracking acidity, some discreet red berries and nougat note. Lemon driven. Par level with CdM maybe a mini step back this time. 98-99
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11/4/2021 - mye wrote:
Tasted next to the 90 Cdm. Initially brioche with much more citrus fruit leaning notes. With air the sweet orchard fruit comes out. The fruit is very dense and it coats your palate, but is offset by searing acidity. Beautiful balance as it opens up with a creamy rounded finish. Really great to see that delicate balance of weight/complexity offset by freshness of fruit/acid.
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9/1/2021 - bill00 wrote: 95 Points
Red-fruited. Deep and powerful. This was mellower and more easy-going than bottles 1 and 2 years ago, which were incredibly intense and energetic and also a bit more impressive.
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6/17/2021 - sh6k Likes this wine: 97 Points
This was just the right amount of good: good enough that I’m happy I tried it, not good enough that I would seriously consider spending another $2k on another bottle. It’s an excellent wine — very Krug profile, elegant but powerful, finish goes on forever. I might have trouble telling it from 02 vintage Krug blind (if anyone wants to set me up with that tasting let me know) — very similar but with more of that grape candy Pinot nose and maybe more toast.
Did I mention how long the finish is? It’s unreal.
Update after a day of reflection and a bottle of Grand Cuvée: the finish on the Ambonnay is unmatched. Adding another point to the rating
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5/24/2021 - aquacongas wrote: 99 Points
blind
guessed right and was "easy" to detect after CdM 2004. Krug perfume but more power and red berries fruit. Less honey and lemon tart. Density is unbelivable. At least for the next 20 years. Both CdM and CdA 02 are perfect champagnes now and in the future.
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4/25/2021 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
blind
In different flights together with Millesime 2002 and CdM 2002. The density is unbelievable. Red berries, cracking acidity and balance. You feel the power which is not completely evolved. More to come. 98+
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11/7/2020 - Kim Gerner wrote: 90 Points
Krug vertical and horisontal tasting and lunch with Margareth Henriquez (Geranium): 1. wine in the 2002 flight. Extremely closed right now. Needs in my opinion many years for further development. My rating is based on the performance right now. The wine has received extremely high scores from different well known tasters - I presume this is based is based on the potential
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11/7/2020 - beatles wrote: 97 Points
Oh dear - this rules the table. Intense, concentrated, a deep core of fruit, minerals here - and too young. Nervous style.
#Geranium#KrugTasting
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5/15/2020 - _water.into.wine_ Likes this wine: 97 Points
My first ever time trying this very rare release from Krug. Opened an hour in advance and served in a large burgundy glass. Lemon colour woth medium intensity fine bubbles. Honey, toast and green apples. Dry. Full bodied. Long finish. High acidity. Structured. Complex. Balanced. Youthful and ready, but will last. Reminds me of a Bollinger VVF 2002. This was a superb treat to try. And possibly the biggest champagne I have tried. CK40 birthday.
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4/18/2020 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 98 Points
Legends (MG): blind
I had this bottle by accident blindly one week before. Same nose and I thought the same: P2 or P3 DP from the 70ies. Very reductive in the nose after oystershell and seabreeze. After 5 minutes more Krug perfume and a blindblowing concentration and power. Great acidity. side by side blindly with CdM 2002. This time CdM is just a hint in front. More elegant and more precise but I think it is more academically. The first CdM was opened a day before, the second at the ame day. The second bottle was out of this world. 98(99)
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4/11/2020 - aquacongas Likes this wine: 99 Points
Spontaneous Ultra Tasting: Blind
I guessed CDM 2002, even it was more vpluptous in nose and palate. Less "elegant" but more pleasant in the front palate. Black currant, some chocolate and may be the most concentrated champagne I had, similar to CdA 1996. I don't know if it will age similar to CdM but this wine is in a few years a mindblowing champagne. 99-100
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7/1/2018 - Kemo Sabe Likes this wine: 95 Points
Just released and drank in a full vertical of d'Ambonnay (95, 96, 98, 00 and 02). Awesome energy and verve. Strong acidity but not out of balance. Great lemon and toast with plenty of minerality and chalky notes. Some brioche and creme brulee. This is easliy a 50+ year wine with plenty of upside.
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