x
  • Country ranking ?

    30
  • Producer ranking ?

    1
  • Decanting time

    30min
  • When to drink

    now to 2040
  • Food Pairing

    Enjoy without food

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 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 I suppose the 1996 Clos du Mesnil can’t get any better by my standards. It never fails to leave me speechless. The 1996 is a modern-day 1988 or 1979, which is to say a classic among classics; in fact the 1996 may very well be the greatest Clos du Mesnil period. Smoke, bright fruit, crushed rocks and smoke inform the kaleidoscopic, breathtaking finish. (AG) ) 

96 points Wine Spectator

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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 whi...

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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 acquis...

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Vintage 1996

Up to this point 1996 has been considered a fantastic vintage which produced classic wines; the best since 1990. A long, dry summer produced grapes of record ripeness with record acidity. Some, including myself, question how the 1996s are aging. The wines are generally characterized by a distinctive rather lemony acidity and very good attack, but some wines now seem terribly austere, while others already seem dangerously short of fruit. None o...

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Average Bottle Price

2015 2014 2012 2010
1 204€ +9.9% 1 096€ -29.2% 1 549€ +57.6% 983€

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

48 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Light

ending

Long, Pure and Lingering

flavors

Coffee, Toasty and Mineral

recommend

Yes

taste

Concentrated, Well-structured, Complex, Focused and Elegant

Written Notes

The Emperor kept himself and his other guests busy with a magnum of 1996 Krug Clos du Mesnil, which was a big, rich, buttery beast, all the more so since it was out of magnum. It was razor sharp and mountainous in its character, long and strong. ‘The longer the better,’ The Emperor sagely advised, and it was easy to see why Clos du Mesnil is the Romanee-Conti of Champagne. This was a laser of Star Wars proportion (98+M).

  • 98p
This legendary vintage was harvested on the 23 and 24 September, giving only the equivalent of 9,800 bottles to the whole, wide yearning world. It makes one feel vertiginous to know that the whole champagne world is waiting for this assessment, especially if I do not really feel that I can make any decisive assessment. This wine is assuredly as tough as the 96 Salon, but at the same time oily and opulent, which leads to conclusions that cry out for early drinking. Nothing could be more erroneous. If one wants to experience the entire spectrum one will have to wait for at least 15 years after the launch. The elegance is tremendous. Starting to be fantastic in 2010.
  • 97p
Faintly developed, pale colour. A ripe, fruity nose: fresh with a full, young-at-heart character. Thoroughly firm acid structure and concentrated fruitiness. Ripe apple hints, but the total aroma spectrum was not yet fully developed. A mineral-like, crusty mouthfeel and a very long aftertaste. Fine already, but please be patient enough to store it at least for a decade.
  • 95p
Crystal clear pale lemony colour with a green tinge. Creamy, delicate and caramelized nose of ripe tropical fruits and of nuts. The palate is a bomb: magnificent steely and focused lemony acidity. Medium-bodied and extremely refined and elegant. The wine is in a very youthful stage showing astonishing purity. Only 8607 bottles and 602 Magnums were made on this superb vintage. This will be close to immortal.
  • 97p
Clos du Mesnil är en charmör som i ett vin förenar alla de bästa blanc de blancs och samtidigt präglar vinet med husets signum. En champagne av ren lyx, både i karaktär och pris, kombination av kraft och elegans, visar en elegant sofistikerad textur och krämigt, mättat djup. 12 000 flaskor och 489 magnum har världen att slåss om av denna diamant. Och visst är Krug Clos du Mesnil ett av världens främsta viner! TASTINGNOTE Visst är den ovanligt utvecklad och mer tillgänglig än vanligt vilket kan indikera att vinet inte är lika stort som en del andra årgångar. Jag sticker ändå ut hakan direkt och låter mig baxna i ett lyckorus där allt sitter på rätt plats från start. Det känns alltid lite meningslöst när man ska försöka beskriva de främsta vinerna i världen så låt oss bara konstatera att detta är en generös, rik och mjuk upplaga av det mest perfekta chardonnayvin världen har tillsammans med DRC Montrachet.
  • 99p
Krug Clos du Mesnil 1996 -a great blanc de blanc. a perfect match between lot s of acidity, richness, power and intensity combined with a fantastic creaminess due to the long time on the yeast. still too young but giving lots of promisses. very close to perfection.
  • 98p

Pale, light green to yellow colour. Focused, concentrated, lean, complex, mineral, toasty, green apples. Crisp, medium-bodied, broad, elegant, lemon with green apples, creamy, roasted coffee. Lingering, pure, mineral, elegantly toasty. Grace Kelly of champagnes. – JL 96p (5/2011)

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Satisfactory

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

6

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Inside Information

In the Cellar #1110
Nov 2010
Antonio Galloni 100 Drink: N/A $2042-$2072
Once again I am completely floored by Krug’s Clos du Mesnil, which remains in my opinion the very finest wine to emerge from Champagne in 1996, and one of the greatest wines ever made in any region. The clarity, precision and focus of the fruit are simply breathtaking, while the overall sense of balance is phenomenal. The wine dances on the palate with the grace of a ballerina in a stunning display of class and elegance from start to finish. In a word: perfect.
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