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.
The 1995 Krug Clos d'Ambonay was almost brutally young despite being 13 years of age. This wine appears to have an incredibly long life ahead of it. Drinking this crystal clear Champagne is almost like drinking pure rocks, with hints of citrus and flowers. It is a beautiful, crisp, mineral-dominated Champagne with 20-30 years of life ahead of it.
Full-bodied and deep, featuring graphite, toast, leather and spicenotes augmented by citrus and mineral. This is dry and backed bya racy structure, with a long, structure-driven finish, replete withspice and citrus accents. A Champagne for food or contemplation.Drink now through 2025.The Clos d'Ambonnay is a blanc de noirs made entirely from Pinot Noir. Ambonnay is a village in the Montagne de Reims, rated grand cru, where the southeast exposure tends to yield richer, fuller wines. The new wine was inspired by Krug's single-vineyard Clos du Mesnil wine, which comes from a tiny 4.57 acre parcel in the Côte de Blancs, which Krug purchased in 1971. The Clos du Mesnil wine was started by Rémi and Henri Krug, and was, until now, the house's most expensive cuvée. The 1996 Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Clos du Mesnil (96 points on Wine Spectator's 100-point scale) was released this year at a price of $800 per bottle. "The idea arose a few years after the revelation of Krug Clos du Mesnil, when both Henri and Rémi had in mind to find a second jewel vineyard," said Olivier Krug. "That jewel was owned by one of our suppliers in Ambonnay, which had always been one of our darling villages." In 1994, after working in the vineyard for a few years and some trial fermentations in small oak barrels (a technique Krug is known for), the company made an offer to purchase the vineyard. The 1995 is the first vintage of the wine to be released. Krug's parent company, luxury goods giant LVMH, held a prerelease in early October for friends of the house, but Krug fans in the United States will have to wait until spring 2008 for the official release. Compounding the difficulty of acquiring a bottle is that only 250 cases were made.
