Krug Masterclass at Decanter Fine Wine Experience
London
Tasted Saturday, November 19, 2011 by Vintomas with 548 views
Introduction
Krug Masterclass presented by winemaker Eric Lebel and business development director Romain Cans.
London
Tasted Saturday, November 19, 2011 by Vintomas with 548 views
Krug Masterclass presented by winemaker Eric Lebel and business development director Romain Cans.
2000 Krug Champagne Clos du Mesnil 94 Points
France, Champagne
Golden yellow colour, discrete mousse. Slightly nutty nose with toasted hazelnut and hazelnut cream, toffee, honey, ripe peach, some citrus, noticeable flowery notes, some oak barrel notes with a hint of vanilla. Nuanced and quite elegant in the nose. The nutty aromas dominated first and then receded somewhat, oak and vanilla emerged instead, and after that more citrus. Very noticeable acidity on the palate, citrus notes with ripe citrus fruit – mostly grapefruit – and some zest, honey, freshness, noticeable minerality, some spice. Very long and citrus-fresh aftertaste with grapefruit and some mint. Young, in particular on the palate, the complexity indicates potential. 93-94+ p.
Slightly more citrus dominated nose and palate compared to blended Krugs, but there was a clear similarity in style to these.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1995 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 94 Points
France, Champagne
Bright to golden yellow colour, discrete mousse with small bubbles. Very bready nose, nutty with toasted hazelnuts, almonds and other nuts, some honey and marzipan, yellow apples with some winter apples, aromatic oils, some flowery and perfume notes. On the palate ripe citrus fruits, some herbal notes, noticeable minerality with mint, pronounced acidity, yellow and red apple, orange, noticeble spice. Comes across as ready to drink and complex, can take many more years in the cellar, but I don’t expect too much improvement. 94-95 p.
More bright yellow hue compared to the 1996 when tasted at the same time, less powerful nose, less fruit concentration, but more nuanced.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1996 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 97 Points
France, Champagne
Golden yellow with some hints at amber, good mousse with small bubbles. Quite nutty nose with toasted hazelnuts and hazelnut cream, yellow and red apples as well as winter apples, bready notes, discrete citrus notes, hints of vanilla, some flowery notes. Powerful on the palate, very noticeable and fresh minerality with high acidity (but not painfully high), mixed citrus fruits and other ripe yellow fruits, some apples from the cellar, noticeable spice. Long citrus-fresh aftertaste with very noticeable minerality. The combination of concentration and freshness is fantastic, showing the sometimes tricky top vintage 1996 at its best. Much younger on the palate than in the nose, but approachable now. 96-97+ p.
Much more developed in the nose than 1998, more powerful nose than 1995. More fruit combined with the developed notes than 1995, younger on the palate than 1998.
In retrospect, the two times I have tasted Krug 1996 after this occasion, it has actually come across as younger and slightly less developed, and on those occasions I have rated it slightly lower on its “current showing”. 1995 and 1998, on the other hand, have showed very similarly when I re-tasted them later. I wonder if I perhaps had the luck(!) of being poured from a bottle that had matured a bit prematurely (perhaps it got some extra air at some point?) and gave a preview of what we can expect from other Krug 1996 bottles in a couple of years’ time? This 1996 was actually darker than the 1995 served alongside it, which could indicate that this was the case.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1998 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Bright yellow, very fine and small bubbles. Nose of yellow apples, ripe peach, ripe citrus fruit, noticeable breadiness and some nuttiness, flowery note with white flowers, some vanilla and some mineral. Yellow and red apples on the palate, peach, ripe citrus (lemon and grapefruit), noticeable acidity, spice. Long aftertaste with grapefruits, apples and freshness. Somewhat young, but reasonably ready to drink unless you prefer more developed notes. Already nuanced and complex, could perhaps improve some. 93-94 p.
Slightly more developed, nutty and complex in the nose compared to 2000, more mixed yellow fruits and an impression of more ripe fruit. Not quite as high in acidity as 2000. From the general vintage character and varietal composition, you’d actually expected the difference to be the other way around on both accounts, so it could be the relative youth of the 2000 playing a trick on us.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 93 Points
France, Champagne
Bright yellow, slighty lighter hue than the 1998, good mousse, small bubbles. Nose of citrus – grapefruit, ripe lemons and zest, mineral, yellow apple, some spice, flowery notes with white flowers, some vanilla and perfume notes, discrete nutty and bready notes. The nose is fairly reminiscent of a an oaked blanc de blancs. On the palate yellow apples with some winter apples, some peach, citrus, noticeable minerality and acidity, spice, fresh and acidic aftertaste with apple and citrus notes together with some grapefruit bitterness. Young, definitely has potential. 92-93+ p.
More apple notes in the nose than Clos du Mesnil 2000. The acidity is somewhat lower than Clos du Mesnil, but the difference is not too large, less fress citrus notes, slightly spicier and somewhat more ready to drink. But on balance they are rather similar!
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
1989 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut Collection 95 Points
France, Champagne
Golden yellow colour, good mousse. In the nose noticeable bready notes with nuttiness and ripe citrus fruit with some zest, yellow and red apples, some vanilla, spice, good fruit for its age. Ripe citrus fruit on the palate, noticeably spicy, good acidity, mineral, some notes of baked apples, comes across as powerful (almost like the 1996), apply-spicy aftertaste. Fully mature, but not at all old, foody style with less citrus in the aftertaste than the rest. 95-96 p.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 93 Points
France, Champagne
Pale yellow, discrete mousse with rather small bubbles. In the nose citrus with very ripe fruit, some flowery notes (white flowers), some vanilla, hints of red apples, some spice, perfumed notes. On the palate ripe citrus fruit (grapefruit), noticeable minerality, some red apples, noticeable spice, some grapefruit bitterness. Slightly young in the nose and on the palate although drinkable now, but is sure to improve. 92-93+ p.
More flowery than the cuvée with 2001 base vintage. Rather noticeable spice, comes across as more foody than the youngest vintage Krugs.
Current release when tasted (autumn 2011), youngest vintage in the blend is 2003.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée 93 Points
France, Champagne
Bright yellow, rather good mousse with rather small bubbles. Noticeable breadiness in the nose, hints of butter, some nuttiness, yellow and some red apples, ripe citrus fruit, some peach and vanilla. Clearly developed and nuanced on the nose. On the palate ripe citrus fruit, yellow and red apple with some winter apples, noticeable minerality and acidity, rather spicy, grape fruit bitterness. Citrusy aftertaste with grapefruit notes. Ready to drink but still young on the palate. Will probably not improve in terms of score, but could get more developed and nutty with cellaring. 93-94 p.
Two years older release, youngest vintage in the blend is 2001. Most obvious buttery notes of all wines in the tasting. Slightly more full bodied than the younger Grande Cuvée release (2003 base).
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No