Grande Cuvee 169eme Edition
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Superb upon release, this prestige cuvee possesses the structure and acidity to age gracefully for 10 to 20 years in a proper cellar.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Aged hard cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, roasted poultry with wild mushrooms, and delicate seafood dishes such as pan-seared scallops.
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The Krug Grande Cuvee 169eme Edition represents the 169th annual recreation of founder Joseph Krug's vision: to craft the most generous expression of Champagne every year, transcending the limitations of a single vintage. This specific edition is built around the harvest of 2013, a cool and late-ripening growing season that yielded grapes of remarkable structure and freshness. To achieve its signature complexity, the house blended 146 reserve wines from 11 different years, spanning from the vibrant 2013 vintage back to the rich 2000 vintage. Composed of 43% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and 22% Meunier, the base wines were individually fermented in small oak casks to foster micro-oxygenation and structural depth. Following a meticulous blending process, the bottles rested in Krug's chalk cellars in Reims for over seven years, resulting in a Champagne of extraordinary tension, boasting notes of citrus, toasted brioche, hazelnut, and gingerbread.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in Reims in 1843 by Joseph Krug, the House of Krug has established itself as one of Champagne's most legendary and uncompromising names. Operating from its historic cellars at 5 Rue Coquebert, the house is celebrated for its traditional production methods, notably fermenting all its base wines in small oak casks and maintaining an unparalleled library of reserve wines to achieve extraordinary complexity. This meticulous approach yields deeply structured, age-worthy sparkling wines, ranging from the iconic multi-vintage Grande Cuvée to rare, single-vineyard masterpieces like Clos d'Ambonnay, a highly coveted Blanc de Noirs sourced from a tiny walled plot in the heart of Ambonnay.