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  • Country ranking ?

    1 015
  • Producer ranking ?

    94
  • Decanting time

    15min
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Salmon and avocado blinis

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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97 points Wine Spectator

 **Collectibles** A barrel-fermented style. Shows a slight oxidative character, with whole-grain toast, ginger, exotic citrus and honey notes. Big and dry, with a firm structure and a tactile sensation on the finish. A Champagne for food.  (12/2006) 

95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 The 1995 Clos du Mesnil shows pretty notes of autumn leaves, truffles and citrus. It is a rather fat, texturally rich vintage that probably won’t age forever, but rather a wine that offers rewarding drinking at a relatively young stage by Clos du Mesnil standards. (AG)  (6/2011) 

93 points Wine & Spirits

 The Clos du Mesnil produced a golden Chardonnay Champagne in 1995, its concentrated flavors run through with electricity, tooth-jarring in its youthful power. If figs could be white, if lime pith could be chalk, they'd both play a role in the flavors of this wine, as does oak, which caramelizes the mineral flavors. Too young to touch, this needs another five years to mellow, and should continue to mature for years after.  (12/2006) 

92 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

 Light gold, with a slow mousse. Complex aromas of buttered nuts, brioche, honey, yellow peach and apricot seem evolved and open-knit. But this is surprisingly brisk on the palate, showing edgier, more citrus-driven pink grapefruit and lime flavors. The bitter citrus zest flavors are powerful and almost painfully concentrated. Displays the combination of richness and tart tones that is typical of this vintage.  (12/2005)

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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 story of Clos du Mesnil started in 1698 when a 1,85 ha plot in the outskirts of the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger was sealed with walls for reasons unknown. The village grew in size and in 100 years the vineyard plot was surrounded by housing. The walls protected the vineyards from being dug up and from being used for housing purposes. The plot landed in the hands of the Krug family, when the brothers were searching for new vineyard acquisitions in the 1975s. A property was being sold in the Côte de Blancs, and as vineyard land was fiercely sought after, the brothers bought the plot without really seeing what they had bought.

 


When they first saw the Clos du Mesnil, they became very excited by the idea of producing a single vineyard wine. As the plot was not in good condition, Krug had to take the decision to replant it. Therefore, the first vintage of Krug Clos du Mesnil dates back to 1979 when the vines were old enough to produce good wine and when the unique quality of wine from the plot was realised. The Clos du Mesnil is produced in a similar way to the vintage. The plot comprises 6 individual parcels of varying vine ages. Each is picked and vinified separately. Enhancing terroir attributes is the guiding philosophy throughout vine growing and vinification. Rémi Krug stresses that it was not the single vineyard concept that was fascinating in itself. Instead it was the uniqueness of the parcel and its wine; “a diamond one wishes to show on its own”. The Krugs always insist that the Clos du Mesnil is a unique wine, but never better than the vintage or the Grande Cuvée. In this massive volume vintage the Clos du Mesnil is however a true diamond of a wine.

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Vintage 1995

A welcome relief after some difficult years in the region. Quantity-wise, it was the seventh high-cropping year in a row. But, in 1995, the quality also excelled, and particularly so for Chardonnay. There were significant frost damages during the spring and the warm but wet weather in the summer ignited mildew and rot problems. The vines cropped heavily and rigorous vineyard work and selection during harvest led to best results. Harvest commenced on September 18th and yielded grapes of a fine balance of sugar and acidity. The vintage has turned out to be much better than first expected and it has emerged from the shadow of the much-hyped 1996. This vintage is marked by elegance of its inviting fruitiness, beautiful balance and slow-building finesse. Its greatest examples include Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires, Dom Pérignon (whole range), Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Bollinger R.D, Krug Vintage and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne.

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Average Bottle Price

2015 2014 2012 2010
704€ -8.5% 769€ -8.7% 842€ +27.8% 659€

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.

Tasting note

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Written Notes

A good doctor and a good businessman were good company on one weeknight in the city. We ended up with five wines but only two vintages, 1995 and 1991. It wasn’t planned like that, but we were in sync! We started with a 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil, which had a big oaky nose, full of toasty coconut and bread soaked in oil. It was very buttery in the nose but very lemony on the palate, a bit tangy. There were earthy flavors in this tart bubbly (94).

  • 94p

The toasty nose, with a suggestion of oak, is both subtle and layered. The structure is exceptional; the rich fruitiness of the vintage is combined charmingly with the stylish acidity of the Chardonnay. The concentration is perfect and the length of the taste does not leave any room for improvement. The wines of the 1995 vintage can usually be enjoyed at a young age but the rather unattached aroma of oak should be allowed to integrate into the fruitiness of the wine over time.

  • 94p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

45min

Drinking temperature

7

Other wines from this producer

Blanc de Blancs

Clos du Mesnil Vinothèque

Grande Cuvée

Grande Cuvée 160ème Édition

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

Krug Clos d'Ambonnay

Krug Collection

Krug Rosé

Krug Rosé 25ème Édition

Krug Vintage

Private Cuvée

Private Cuvée Extra Sec

Rosé - 18ème Édition

Rose 21st Edition

Rosé 22 Edition

Rosé 27ème Édition

Vintage

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #186
Dec 2009
Antonio Galloni 93 Drink: 2010 - 2020 $895 (1300)
I am much less enthralled with the 1995 Brut Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil, which comes across as excessively heavy and ponderous, with little of the delineation and nuance of the 1996. The aromas and flavors are surprisingly advanced for a wine of this age, and notes of roasted nuts and caramel suggest this won’t be an especially long-lived Clos du Mesnil. On the positive side, the mousse is exceptionally elegant. Still, I am not sure that this alone is enough at this level. No disgorgement date provided. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020. 

My tasting this year with Olivier Krug was fascinating as I had the rare opportunity to taste all of the house’s 1996’s side by side, a comparison that yielded very interesting results.
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