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  • Country ranking ?

    1 125
  • Producer ranking ?

    108
  • Decanting time

    10min
  • When to drink

    now to 2025
  • Food Pairing

    Salmon and avocado blinis

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Very pale lemony colour, with a vinous nose. Plenty of gently waxy, nectarine fruit quality. A lovely background vegetal, truffly note, but really quite fresh. There's some figgy, lemon zest notes, but all very subtle and subdued compared to the 1982, but full of finesse. The palate it rounded and flooded with quite a fat lemony fruit. This seems like a much simpler wine, with beautiful fruit quality. It seems one-dimensional in comparison, bu...

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The Story

To the delight of Krug Lovers around the world, a very limited number of Krug Vintage bottles are kept in ideal conditions in the House’s cellars. They are tasted and appraised as they wait to blossom into a second life. The Cellar Master might then decide that some Krug Vintages reveal a new personality and become Krug Collection. Krug Collection is a tribute to time sublimation: maturity exposes hidden facets, depth and new flavours, while g...

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Vintage 1981

Champagne:  Challenging weather conditions left a small harvest and kept the producers in suspense up until the final moments. The final result was a good but very scarce vintage.

    The mild spring woke up the vines from their winter sleep early, and vegetal growth began early in the spring. Unfortunately, heavy night frosts came in April and damaged the young sprouts. The situation only got worse when in May hailstorms damaged the vineya...

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Average Bottle Price

2024 2020 2015 2014 2010 2005
2 980€ +36.1% 2 189€ +146.2% 889€ +29.2% 688€ +6.8% 644€ +14.6% 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.

Tasting note

color

Medium, Gold and Bright

ending

Long, Lingering and Vibrant

flavors

Truffles, Apricot, Mineral, Citrus, Toasty and Creamy

nose

Open, Refined, Complex and Fresh

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Low alcohol content, Balanced, Concentrated, Well-structured, Developing, Medium-bodied, Elegant, Rich, Fresh, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

nice but not special and Excellent

Written Notes

We started with a token 1981 Krug Collection, which was showing better than before, finally starting to shed some snakeskin and provide some meat and soup to its acidic and citric bones. It was still tangy and still too young, a veritable adolescent amongst the adults that would follow (94+M).
  • 94p

This is a wine of which Henri Krug, Olivier's father, has always been very proud – and as someone who married in 1981, I know how rare special wines from this vintage are. Disgorged seven to eight years ago. Lots of millerandage and a vintage that was very good for Chardonnay. Like 1998, more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir. Dense, orange peel on the nose. Very rich. Not as much finesse as the two Grandes Cuvées. Slight bruised-apple character now.

  • 95p

This Champagne is now part of the Krug Collection partly as in its second life, its flavours and aromas are so distinct and different. 

It truly tells an entirely new story with rare aromas of white truffle and sweet spices, ripe apples and candied citrus, followed by mellow flavours of apricot and honey.

On the mouth it is unctuous, generous, with remarkable volume and opulence, with an extremely long finish and a lasting impression of elegance and distinction.

Reminiscent of Krug 1981 as it was then however, its freshness and vivacity remain.

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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

Be Cautious

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 Clos du Mesnil

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

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