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  • Country ranking ?

    757
  • Producer ranking ?

    72
  • Decanting time

    30min
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Shrimps in cream curry sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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100 points Wine Enthusiast

A wine that has created its own universe. It has a unique, special softness that allies with the total purity that comes from a small, enclosed single vineyard. The fruit is almost irrelevant here, because it comes as part of a much deeper complexity. This is a great wine, at the summit of Champagne, a sublime, unforgettable experience.  (12/2010) 

97 points Wine Spectator

 A minerally vein and finely tuned acidity structure this elegant 1998, with expressive notes of orchard blossom, hazelnut, dried apricot, pastry, lemon cream and crystallized pineapple sitting on a texture of finely spun silk. Features a long, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2028. 

96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 1998 Brut Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil has come together beautifully since I tasted it last year. This is a remarkably taut, focused bottle of the 1998 with great energy and minerality in its precise, crystalline fruit. I don't expect the 1998 to be one of the longest-lived Mesnils, but if this bottle is any indication, it should continue to drink well for a number of years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.

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The Story

Krug Clos du Mesnil, a very rare Champagne, showcases the unique character of a single plot of Chardonnay, harvested in a single year. Our 1.84-hectare vineyard overlooked by the village church has been protected by walls since 1698. The vineyard is located in the heart of Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the most iconic villages for Chardonnay in the Champagne region. Krug Clos du Mesnil has an expansive generous personality enhanced by the finish which powers through with extreme precision.

The vineyard was secretly replanted over eight years, and it was not until 1979 that the first harvest was deemed to fulfil expectations. When the wine was tasted, it proved so outstanding that the Krugs decided to bottle it on its own. There would be no "assemblage” – a bold decision amply justified by the exquisite quality of the single ingredient.

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Wine Information

The 1.84-hectare vineyard overlooked by the village church has been protected by walls since 1698. It is located in the heart of Mesnil-sur-Oger, one of the most iconic villages for Chardonnay in the Champagne region. Krug’s savoir-faire has successfully revealed the intense and calm purity, chiselled structure and persistent aromas of this single walled plot in the year 1998, enhanced by over ten years in the cellar, thus gaining finesse and elegance.

 

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Vintage 1998

This year's harvest is the largest the region has ever seen. Every corner of the appellation has managed to achieve the maximum authorized harvest yield of 10,400 kilos of grapes per hectare. Producers were also allowed to harvest an additional 2,600 kg which was allocated to the Champagne reserve, called blocking. This led to 330 million bottles of champagne being made in total. The lock-in system (which allows more production than necessary to meet demand) was the main tool for maintaining a stable price level in the 1990s.

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Average Bottle Price

2015 2012 2011 2010
834€ -6.3% 890€ +43.3% 621€ +10.5% 562€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Latest Pro-tasting notes

30 tasting notes

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Written Notes

12,000 bottles and 200 magnums produced. Tasted at Decanter Krug dinner.
Much more open and developed on the nose than the regular 1998 vintage Krug. Really quite light and toasty, but without the density of the regular 1998 and without outstanding refreshment value. (JR)

  • 90p

Krug Clos du Mesnil 1998 is a picture of finesse and harmony. A unique luminous pale golden colour. Mineral aromas combined with those of candied fruit, praline and white truffle, boasting intense purity. In the palate flavours of citrus fruit, vanilla and herbs with chiselled structure, velvet texture and persistent finish will amaze you.

1998 Clos du Mesnil offers a bright, pale and slightly golden robe. Its colour shows its great purity. Aromas of candied fruits and cholocate are released, accompanied by notes of white truffle. To the palate, this champagne is bold and surprises by its intensity mixed to an extreme freshness. It evolves with flexibility.

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

8

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Grande Cuvee 161st edition

Grande Cuvée 162ème Édition

Grande Cuvee 163th edition

Grande Cuvee 164th edition

Grande Cuvée - 165ème Édition

Grande Cuvée -166ème Édition

Grande Cuvée 167ème Edition

Grande Cuvée 168éme edition

Grande Cuvee 169th Edition

Grande Cuvée 170ème Édition

Grande Cuvée 171ÉME Edition

Grande Cuvée Edition 167

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Private Cuvée

Private Cuvée Extra Sec

Rosé - 18ème Édition

Rose 21st Edition

Rosé 22 Edition

Rosé 27ème Édition

Vintage

Inside Information

Krug Clos du Mesnil 1998 could be enjoyed with different fish and shellfish dishes, including the opulence of fish or chicken in a rich cream sauce or shrimps in cream curry sauce with fresh aromatic ginger as well as the smoothness of great caviar.

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