Krug - Champagner Vintage Brut in Box 2006

The Wine Advocate: "As I reported when it was released, Krug's 2006 Brut is clearly one of the vintage's highlights. Offering up aromas of dried fruits, pear, freshly baked bread, caramelized apples, honeycomb and toasted sourdough, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with superb concentration, racy acids and an impressively tightly wound profile for this demonstrative vintage. I observed last year that this is surprisingly reserved for the vintage, and if anything, that quality is even more in evidence today. While many 2006 Champagnes are likely to be at their best in their demonstrative youth, this is one wine unquestionably built for the long haul."

Wine Spectator: "A stunner, with mouthwatering vibrancy and focus married to all of the opulence of a great 2006 Champagne. Richly fragrant, offering nutmeg, cardamom, jasmine, lemongrass, espresso and grilled nut notes enmeshed in a core of black currant and tangerine fruit flavors. Beautifully creamy and complex, this glides across the palate on the long, lasting finish. Disgorged Winter 2017-2018. Drink now through 2030."

James Suckling: "This is a very deep and layered vintage Champagne with a round, ample mouth feel. It’s full-bodied with lots of cooked apple and mirabelle, as well as biscuit undertones. Hints of stone and flint. It’s flavorful. Delicious now and will age beautifully. Drink or hold."

Decanter: "Krug calls this wine 'Capricious Indulgence' because of the vagaries of the season, but the result is beguiling, with a hint of ripe red apple touched with currant, violet and a touch of brioche. The texture is structured but still silky and surprisingly approachable even now. The wine was produced with nearly two-thirds black grapes, notably Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and Les Riceys. Following fermentation in barrel it aged 12 years on the lees before being disgorged in the autumn of 2018."

Falstaff: "Helles Goldgelb, Silberreflexe, feines, lebendiges Mousseux. Nuancen von frischen, hellen Kirschen, Ringlotten, weiße Blüten, feines Backwerk, ein Hauch von englischem Kuchen und Orangenmarmelade. Am Gaumen kraftvoll, feines Nougat, stoffig und rund, feines Säuregerüst, mineralisch, dezente Extraktsüße, ein Hauch von Räucherspeck, Mokka und Karamell im Nachhall, toller, komplexer Speisenbegleiter, bereits gut antrinkbar, salzig, stoffig, sehr lang und doch sehr leichtfüßig und animierend."

Jancis Robinson: "Quite rich and polished. No hint of astringency. But zesty on top and with lots of undertow. (I’ve never heard anyone say of a Krug vintage that it shouldn’t have been released.) Long with a particularly rich finish."