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  • Country ranking ?

    614
  • Producer ranking ?

    52
  • Decanting time

    20min
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Oyster Kilpatrick

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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The year 1995 in the village of Ambonnay was mild winter, slightly rainy with two short periods of frost in January and in March without much impact. Sunny and warm spring and a long period of heat from end of June until the harvest was completed. Grapes gave wines with great level of fruit and expression while having a high level of freshness. A promise of generosity, elegance and length.

Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1995 is the first Champagne of this exceptional terroir ever created as a tribute to Ambonnay and to Pinot Noir. 
The House chose to reveal Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1995 because the year 1995 succeeded in fully expressing the potential of this walled plot.

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The Story

Krug Clos d’Ambonnay celebrates with the rarest of Champagnes the unique character of a particular Pinot Noir grape that of a small, walled, 0.68-hectare plot from the heart of Ambonnay, one of the most distinguished villages for this grape variety in Champagne, and one which has played a very special role in the life of the House of Krug. Krug Clos d’Ambonnay reveals a personality with significant presence, great substance and an amazing length and finesse.

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Wine Information

This single vineyard Champagne is the rarest and most expensive in the world. Produced from just one and one half acres of Pinot Noir within the village itself of Ambonnay. In 1995 there were only 250 cases made from 11 tiny 200 liter Krug casks.

 

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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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Latest Pro-tasting notes

21 tasting notes

Tasting note

color

Medium and Yellow

ending

Long and Extensive

flavors

Mineral and Cherry

nose

Intense, Complex and Rich

recommend

Yes

taste

Balanced, Concentrated, Well-structured, Vigor, Elegant and Dry

Written Notes

Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 1995 / 96 points/  The most expensive young champagne in the world comes from a tiny, magical, walled-in plot of 0.68 hectares in the middle of Ambonnay. 3,000 euros per bottle does not seem to frighten off the Krugists since all of the 3,000 bottles have already been reserved. The wine itself is fantastic first and foremost because it is clearly a brother to the other siblings in the Krug family. The wine breathes far more of Krug than of Ambonnay in precisely the same way as Clos du Mesnil does in its way. It feels as though all the Krug wines receive a final little spray of Krug perfume that distinguishes them from everything else independent of where they are grown. It does not matter if others copy their methods with small oak barrels, no malolactic fermentation, 12 years of storage and other technicalities. Krug they can never copy anyway. I think that Clos d´Ambonnay is very reminiscent of the ordinary vintage wine and is surprisingly enough only marginally more full-bodied than it. A blanc de noirs with insane elegance far distant from any ungracefulness. Its freshness and the phenomenally long aftertaste are probably the most striking things about this magnificent wine. The bouquet is opulently creamy with a hint of hazelnut and brioche along with papaya jam and mango. The flavour balances between a fairytale mellowness and a soundness like the 96. A new world-class wine has been born.

  • 96p
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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Satisfactory

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

1h

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 Edition 167

Krug Clos du Mesnil

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

Vintage

Inside Information

Wine Advocate #186
Dec 2009
Antonio Galloni 98 Drink: 2010 - 2020 $2248-$4000 (3500)
The 1995 Brut Blanc de Noirs Clos d’Ambonnay is simply profound from the very first sip. All of the classic Krug elements are there; the signature bouquet, the finesse of the best Clos du Mesnils, but with the broader shoulders of Pinot from Ambonnay. The fruit is intricately layered in sublime, graceful notes of mineral-infused, perfumed berries that linger on the eternal finish. Totally rich and seductive, the 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay is a wine that will stimulate the intellectual and hedonistic senses to the maximum. In a word, it is divine. The 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay is hard to resist today, but it should continue to develop positively in bottle for a number of years. The only problem is the $3,500 price tag, which means the wine will only be enjoyed by an elite few. 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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94p
 Pekka Nuikki / Editor of the Fine Wine Magazines and Champagne Magazine, Wine Writer (Finland)  tasted  Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 1995  ( Krug )

"Just tasted the world's oldest official vintage - 1727 - still very drinkable and elegant - have you tasted it"

11y 4m ago

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