Average rating 4.9/5 stars across all Google and external reviews
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Bought directly from Moet Hennessey UK Ltd, the bottles are stored in bond at London City Bond Eton Park, in ideal conditions at a constant 13°C. For same-day deliveries, small quantities are kept in our office cellar, where the temperature is maintained between 11–13°C. We source all our bottles directly from the Maison or their official UK office, eliminating the risk of poor storage. This is crucial, as champagne quality is highly sensitive to heat: temperatures above 18°C accelerate maturity significantly, which compromises quality.
Joseph Krug founded the house in 1843 after learning winemaking at Champagne Jacquesson, driven to craft the finest champagne every year, regardless of climate. By honouring each vineyard's individuality and creating a vast reserve library, he achieved his dream & Krug Grande Cuvée 1st Edition was born.
In the 1970s, Henri and Rémi Krug modernized production, acquired Clos du Mesnil, 1st vintage 1979, launched Krug Rosé in 1983 and purchased Clos d'Ambonnay in 1991, first vintage 1995. LVMH acquired Krug in 1999; Henri and Rémi stepped down in 2007. Since 2009, Olivier Krug, the sixth generation, is Director of Krug.
In 2024, Krug completed Joseph, its new state-of-the-art sustainable winery in the village of Ambonnay, awarded exceptional HQE certification.
In 1991, just two years after Olivier joined Krug, a Clos surrounded by a protective wall since 1766 was found in Ambonnay, Krug's favourite village and largest source of Pinot Noir. The tiny 0.68-hectare site was purchased in 1994 and the first vintage was produced in 1995. Kept an absolute secret until its release in 2007, Olivier revealed: "We even kept it a secret from Moët for some years!" Clos d'Ambonnay is an extremely rare and exclusive champagne produced only in the very best vintages. Just 3000 bottles of Clos d'Ambonnay were produced in 1996, each individually numbered.
Krug ID: 308009 | Each bottle of Krug has a Krug ID on the back label which enables you to discover the story of that very bottle. You can do so using the smartphone App or on the Krug website.
Weather: Extremely wide temperature variations as the grapes were coming to the end of the cycle in the vineyard combined with warm, sunny days and very cold nights resulted in ripened grapes with an extremely high freshness. This weather pattern exalted the finesse of Clos d’Ambonnay’s Pinot Noir grapes. The 1996 season is to become a year that will go down in Champagne’s history books.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Clos d'Ambonnay
Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
Lees Ageing: 12 years
Disgorged: Summer 2008
Production: 3000 bottles
Drink: Now to 10 years
Tasting Note:Light gold colour with slight hints of violet, recalling its Pinot Noir origins. Sumptuous aromas of plum tart, brioche, hazelnuts and citrus fruits emerge. The palate is incredibly concentrated, lots of autumn fruits, an amazing freshness enhanced by very fine bubbles and a very long finish. This 1996 is still early in its development and will continue to age for many years before it nears its peak, probably in the early 2020s.
Just five years after Joseph Krug founded his eponymous Champagne House in 1843, he documented his great vision for Krug in a cherry-red leather notebook. In it, he revealed the principles of creating a champagne of incredible richness yet great elegance, of selecting only the finest elements from the greatest terroirs, rejecting mediocre fruit and making both a non-vintage and a vintage cuvée - revolutionary at the time. Discovered in 2010 by current House Director and sixth generation of the founding family Olivier Krug, the ideals in this notebook and Krug's resolute commitment to them have secured their position as the most luxurious and exclusive of all Champagne producers.
Unlike other Champagne Houses, Krug's range consists of prestige cuvées only. Their iconic non-vintage Grande Cuvée is a masterful blend of some 120 wines, vintage Krugs are renowned as true classics, majestically displaying the characteristics of each harvest and their unique and exclusive single-vineyard champagnes, Clos du Mesnil and Clos d'Ambonnay are the ultimate rarities. The recent introduction of ID codes displayed on the back of every bottle - revealing base year, disgorgement periods and product information - has helped revise the vision of Krug in line with the great founder's philosophy.
Cellar Master: Julie Cavil
Winery Location: Reims | Champagne, France
Champagne Region: Montagne de Reims
Annual Production (bottles): 760,000
Chef de Cave History at Champagne Krug:
Julie Cavil - January 2020 to current
Julie Cavil is the current Cellar Master of Champagne Krug — and the first woman to hold that role. After starting her career in advertising, she retrained in oenology in Champagne and joined Krug in 2006, becoming Chef de Caves in 2020. Known for her humility, precision, and respect for Krug’s “one plot, one wine” philosophy, she oversees the blending of hundreds of base wines each year to recreate Krug’s signature style. Cavil balances tradition with innovation, focusing on sustainability and creative projects while preserving the founder’s vision of crafting the finest Champagne every year, regardless of vintage conditions.
Eric Lebel - 1999 - 2019
Eric Lebel joined Krug in 1999 as Chef de Cave. He was described as “Mozart of bubbly". Under his leadership the house expanded its reserve-wine library (for example, tripling from ~50-60 reserve wines in earlier years to 150+). He emphasised the preservation of individuality of plot, rigorous tasting, and refusing wines that did not meet house standards.
Dominique Petit - 1979 - 1999
Dominique Petit is a original Champenois. He was born in Verzy in 1954. Coming from a family of winegrowers, he studied at the Lycée Viticole d’Avize and the University of Reims, earning his oenology diploma at 23. Petit joined Champagne Krug in 1979, where he spent 20 years overseeing production under Henri and Rémy Krug. His tenure marked a bridge between Krug’s family-run era and its modernisation before LVMH ownership. In 1999, he became Chef de Cave at Pol Roger.
Expert Reviews
97+/100
Antonio Galloni
“This flight of 1996s provided plenty of context. The 1996 Clos d'Ambonnay is very similar to the Clos du Mesnil in this vintage. It has the same piercing purity and minerality with the heft of the Pinot still to fully emerge. Hints of menthol, spices and berries wrap around the eternal finish. Clos d'Ambonnay, from a single, walled-in parcel in the village of Ambonnay, is in many ways the red equivalent of Clos du Mesnil. ”
98+/100
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW
“Medium straw in color, the nose is profoundly scented of apple tart, lightly toasted hazelnuts, orange blossom, brioche, and granola with subtle nuances of crushed stones, musk and honeycomb. The palate is incredibly concentrated, crisp and taut with great richness matched by very fine bubbles and a very long, steely finish. There's definitely a lot more to come from this wine but it's looking very fine now.”
94 → 97/100
Essi Avellan MW
“Overt and expressive nose of toast, honey, red apple, earthy spiciness and finely integrated touch of oak. Some oxidative nuances too. Explosively fruity palate that is lifted by a remarkable acidic back bone. Great vivacity, intensity and near-eternal length. The palate takes the oak very well, merging it into the seamless complexity of super intense flavours.”
99/100
James Halliday
“This is an intensely aromatic champagne, with a spiced plum, citrus and vanilla bouquet leading into what at first seems an astonishingly fine (almost to the point of delicate) palate. On re-tasting, the explosive power on the back-palate and finish takes over, with a pyrotechnic display of the racy acidity of the ‘96 vintage. It is at the opposite end of the universe to the Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, also 100 per cent pinot noir. If kept in a humidified 12ºC to 14ºC cellar, d’Ambonnay will live for 50 years, and will need not less than 20 to start to display all its secrets.”
95/100
Antonio Galloni
“Krug’s 1996 Clos d’Ambonnay comes across as quite nuanced and understated, with precise, crystalline fruit and tons of detail.”
Krug Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years, the youngest of which is from 2013, while the oldest dates back to 2000 and a stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this edition its distinct expression and elegance.
Champagne Krug have announced that Julie Cavil will take over as winemaking director in the new year. Incumbent winemaking director Eric Lebel will become deputy director of Krug and will lead projects involving all of the brands within the Moët Hennessy portfolio.
At our most recent tasting at 67 Pall Mall, guests blind tasted Krug Grande Cuvée Editions 162-166 NV (2006-2010), and Krug Vintages 2000-2004, including Krug 2000 from magnum. Find out which champagnes were the highest rated on the evening here.
Last week, we held the most comprehensive Krug Grande Cuvée vertical tasting to date. At 67 Pall Mall, guests blind tasted Grande Cuvée Editions 158-166 NV (2002-2010). We also tasted two Krug Vintages: 2002 and 2004.
Read Jancis Robinson’s report of our outstanding Krug vintage vertical tasting last November. "This would have been a dream tasting anyway, but I particularly love tasting a group of wines blind."
We visited Krug over August bank holiday weekend with Jancis Robinson MW. With an unexpected visit to Clos du Mesnil, a tour of the new Maison, a mini-vertical tasting and dinner at the house, it was well-worth the long drive!
In Dec 2016, we compared five Editions of Krug Grande Cuvée in their first ever blind tasting. Alongside Krug 2002 & 2003, their quality was undeniable, as was the interesting variation between them.
The 2016 Vins Clairs; reserve wines as old as 1998; winemaking with an iPad; Grande Cuvée 163rd Edition; Clos du Mesnil 2002; and revolutionising Champagne terminology. It's all happening at Krug!
