A limited Krug case holding two bottles made from the same year: Krug 2013 and Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition, both built around the 2013 harvest. Tasting them together shows how the house handles one season in two quite different ways.
About This Bottling
2013 was cool and rainy with a late, autumnal harvest, and it gave wines full of citrus. Krug 2013 is 41% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay and 21% Meunier, led by Chardonnay; the Tasting Committee nicknamed it Exalted Citrus. Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition uses 146 wines from 11 years, the oldest from 2000, with Pinot Noir from Ambonnay and the southern Montagne de Reims giving length and Meunier adding tension.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Krug 2013 opens on lemon and bitter orange, then candied peel, toasted almond and honey; the 169 is broader, with flowers, dried fruit and marzipan.
- Palate: The Vintage is direct and precise, all lemon, blood orange, grapefruit and tangerine; the Grande Cuvée adds hazelnut, nougat and brioche.
- Finish: Both are long; the 2013 stays taut and citrus-driven, the 169 rounder and more honeyed.
Serving & Food
Open both at 10 to 11°C and pour side by side in matching white wine glasses, starting with the Grande Cuvée. Sashimi or yuzu-dressed scallops suit the Vintage, and roast chicken or aged Comté the 169.
How to Enjoy
A side-by-side tasting for friends, and a gift for someone who enjoys comparing wines.
Product Details
Producer: Krug
Set Contents: Krug 2013 Vintage × 1, Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition × 1
Krug 2013 Blend: 41% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay, 21% Meunier
Grande Cuvée 169 Blend: 43% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 22% Meunier; 146 wines from 11 years
Region: Champagne, France
Presentation: Krug gift box
Volume: 2 × 750mL
About the Maison
Krug makes a Vintage only when a year has a story worth telling. It is a blend of that year's most expressive plot wines, and it rests for more than ten years in the cellars before release.
Grande Cuvée takes the opposite route. The same season's wines are joined by reserves from many earlier years so that the house style comes through whatever the weather. Krug calls this pairing The Creations of 2013, and it lets you taste the year itself next to the year as part of a much larger blend.
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