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: 1995 Krug "Clos d'Ambonnay" Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne

1995 Krug "Clos d'Ambonnay" Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne

SKU #1036311 98 points Vinous

Outer quote mark Thrown in as a ringer, the 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay is a real treat to taste next to the 1996. In particular, tasting both vintages together shows that that 1995 is the more complete of these two first releases of Krug’s single-vineyard Champagne from Ambonnay. Finely-cut fruit, expressive aromatics and exceptional textural finesse are the signatures. This is another fabulous showing from the 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay. (AG) Inner quote mark (10/2014)

95 points Wine Spectator

Outer quote mark Full-bodied and deep, featuring graphite, toast, leather and spice notes augmented by citrus and mineral. This is dry and backed by a racy structure, with a long, structure-driven finish, replete with spice and citrus accents. A Champagne for food or contemplation. (BS, Web-2009) Inner quote mark

K&L Notes

This single-vineyard Champagne is the rarest (and most expensive) in the world. Produced from just one-and-a-half acres (one-third the size of the Clos de Mesnil) of Pinot Noir within the village itself of Ambonnay, there were only 3000 bottles made from 11 tiny 200-liter Krug casks. The Clos itself has been around since the year 1700, and the Krug family has been getting the grapes from here for three generations. In 1994 they bought the vineyard, changed the pruning methods and made their first single-vineyard wine from the Clos the following year--the 1995 vintage. The wine has an encyclopedia of descriptors on its very complex nose: chalk, fine mineral-infused black cherry fruit and brioche. The aroma is so seamless and integrated that it quickly becomes clear that the wine is on the highest possible level. It is compact and layered, with none of the heaviness that one would expect from a 100% Pinot Noir, barrel-fermented 13 year old offering. (Gary Westby, K&L Champagne Buyer)

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1995 Krug "Clos d'Ambonnay" Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne

Price: $2,499.00

Quantity:

VN: 98

WS: 95

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Product Reviews:

By: Gary Westby | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 11/16/2009 | Send Email

Tasting this Champagne with the Krug family in the vineyard where it was grown was an experience I will never forget. It is an all Pinot Noir statement from one walled vineyard. Only 3,000 bottles were made of this inaugural vintage! Singular, inimitable, great Champagne for the collector.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Pinot Noir

- One of France's most legendary grapes and the grape that earned Burgundy its reputation. The parent of varietals like Pinot Gris/Grigio and Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir is blue to violet to indigo in color with relatively thin skins, and it is said to have been cultivated in France for more than 2,000 years. At its best, Pinot Noir creates elegant wines that are filled with primary red fruit aromas and flavors while young, revealing with an array of secondary characteristics like earth, smoke, violet, truffle and game with age. The varietal is also known, perhaps better than any, for its ability to translate terroir, or a sense of place. While the best Pinot Noir still comes from Burgundy, it is being produced with increasing success in cooler climates around the world. In France, it is part of the trifecta of grapes that can go into Champagne, and it is also grown in Alsace, Irancy, Jura, Savoie, Lorraine and Sancerre. Outside of France it is produced under the names Pinot Nero and Blauburgunder in Italy's mountainous regions, as Spätburgunder in Germany and as Blauburgunder in Austria. In the US, Pinot Noir has found suitable growing conditions in the cooler parts of California, including Carneros, the Russian River Valley, the Anderson Valley, the Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Barbara County, as well as in Oregon's Willamette Valley. In recent years, New Zealand has demonstrated its ability to interpret this hard-to-grow varietal, with successful bottlings coming from careful and attentive growers in Central Otago, Martinborough and Canterbury. Chile is also an up-and-coming region for Pinot Noir, creating fresh, fruit-forward, early-drinking and affordable Pinots from the coastal Casablanca Valley and the Limari Valley.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Champagne

- The French region of Champagne (comprised of the towns of Rheims, Epernay, and Ay) was the first region in the world to make sparkling wine in any quantity. Today, the name of the region is synonymous with the finest of all sparkling wines, and winemaking traditions of Champagne have become role models for sparkling wine producers, worldwide. Surprisingly, the region of Champagne is now responsible for only one bottle in 12 of all sparkling wine produced. Styles of champagne range from the basic brut (often blends of several vintages), single vintage champagnes, and rose.