Reviews & Scores
Tasted blind. Deep orangey apricot colour with a sluggish bead. Fully mature nose with notes of dried apricots and nuts. Wholly enveloping pleasure on the nose! Hint of caramel and also something very exotic indeed. Something you wouldn’t find in any other champagne, surely. Dry, clean finish.
JR18.5/20November 2017
The 1996 Vintage is magnificent. A towering, explosive Champagne, the 1996 delivers the house’s signature breadth in a full-bodied, structured Champagne with enough pure density and acidity to age well for decades. Warm nutty and spiced overtones add nuance on the finish. The 1996 is just beginning to enter the early part of its mature stage, where it is sure to remain for several decades. Krug's Vintage is one of the truly epic wines of the year.
VM98October 2014
It has been a while since we met, but the Krug 1996 is unequivocally a brilliant slice of champagne – the nose cut from some slab of limestone that must of plummeted into the Champagne countryside from outer space. The palate is rapier like acidity, life-affirming mineralite and a focus and freshness that is nothing less than thrilling. Krug is one of life’s great pleasures and this is one of their finest vintages. Tasted November 2012.
WA97May 2013
The 1996 vintage of Krug is a stunning and very young example of the year, and the wine really needs at least another six to eight years in the cellar to fully blossom and start to show all of its potential. The bouquet is deep, complex and youthfully tight, as it offers up a very, very promising nose of apple, lemon, stony minerality, a touch of orange, caraway seed, citrus peel and rye toast. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very pure, with a rock solid core of fruit, a soil-driven personality, the broad shoulders of a vintage Krug from a ripe year, elegant mousse, and brilliant length and grip on the focused and quite youthful finish. This will be a great vintage of Krug in the fullness of time.
JG97November 2011
A powerful, majestic Champagne. Deep and compelling, with aromas of whole-grain toast, coconut and dried citrus that draw you in. Lean and racy on the palate, with a creaminess that's yet to be integrated. A classic '96, with ripe, exotic aromas and a steely structure. Still a baby, with the long, resonant finish confirming its potential. Best from 2009 through 2040. *Collectibles and #10 on Top 100 Wines of 2007*
WS99July 2007
This is a handsome yellow-gold colour with hints of bronze. Still fresh and vigorous yet with a ripe acidity. Wow, this is something else in the mouth! There is a lot going on - firm and tight one moment, then a panoply of sensuous flavours. Williams pears and glace à l'orange evolve into lemon and prunes. A splendid finale of great length and vigour demonstrates that this '96 still has years of life ahead of it.
DC96