Krug Grande Cuvee Edition 174 N.V.

The NV Grande Cuvée 174ème Édition, the latest release from Krug, is based on the 2018 vintage. Dense and explosive in the glass, the 174ème Édition possesses tremendous textural depth right out of the gate. Baked apple tart, chamomile, dried flowers and tangerine peel literally stain the palate. The purity of the fruit is exquisite. The 174ème Édition can be enjoyed with minimal cellaring, but it will drink well for many decades to come. Today, it is positively stunning. The 174ème is a blend of 143 lots going back to 2001. Krug ID: 125004. 2026-2041.

Krug’s newly released NV Grande Cuvée 174ème Édition is built around the 2018 harvest, which represents roughly two-thirds of the blend, with the remainder coming from 10 different years dating back to 2001. Disgorged in early 2025 with a dosage of five grams per liter, the wine opens in the glass with aromas of orange peel, freshly baked bread and pear mingled with notes of aromatic bitters, followed by a medium- to full-bodied, pillowy and charming palate, with a generous, sweet core of fruit, tangy acids and a long, precise finish. If, in a word, the 2017-based 173ème Édition is concentrated and the 2013-based 169ème Édition trenchant, the 174ème Édition is slightly softer and simultaneously less tightly wound than either, though its full complexity has yet to emerge with additional time under cork. 2027-2040.

Smells baritone; of ginger, autumn leaves. There is a real autumnal glow about this wine, generosity and glimmering ‘light’. Quince and clementine. Energy shimmering with coppery brightness through veins of acidity. The weight of the wine seems to come from the earth, more mycorrhizal and chthonic than empyrean. A wine for truffles, great books and candle-lit contemplation rather than glitteringly bright rooms of glamour and smoked-salmon canapés. 2026-2040.