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Krug, Grande Cuvée (NV)
SparklingFranceNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2019-12-19 · Published 2026-09-15 · Updated 2026-09-15
At a glance
In one line
5.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.6 average · world avg price US$281 · A house founded in 1843 in Reims by a butcher's son from Mainz, Germany.
About 30 critic scores on Vivino — from 93 in 1999 to 98 in 2018, mostly clustered in the 92–98 range, trending higher from the 2010s on
Market note: Grande Cuvée isn't sold as a single vintage but as a series of "editions" — Vivino reviews alone mention the 164th, 169th, 172nd and 173rd editions circulating under the same name. The six-digit Krug ID introduced in 2011 lets you look up each edition's exact blend.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“언제나 맛있다. 최고 애정”
Show original
“언제나 맛있다. 최애”
What I learned today: to taste the same every year, you have to blend anew every year.
Today at Bar Suda I had Krug Grande Cuvée, fine bubbles rising without end. One breath, and a whole night came back: winter when I was twenty-one, three days before the solstice, the kitchen table. Fresh brioche and toast, almond, lemon, and honey spreading as I held it in my mouth. Every aroma is clear; what I don't know is which bottle Father poured that night with the label covered. What I remember is that he finished his first glass and, without a word, poured a second.
Master Seo told me what the aromas say: brioche, toast and almond are what Vivino groups as bread and nuts, and they're what people who drink this bottle name most. Then the story. Johann-Joseph Krug, born in 1800 in Mainz, Germany, a butcher's son, came to Champagne in the 1820s and in 1843 founded a house under his own name in Reims. If a vintage Champagne speaks for 'that year', Grande Cuvée promises 'the same Krug, every year'. To keep that promise it reblends ten-odd vintages and 120-odd wines each year, then rests at least six years in the cellar.
Father wrote only: "Always delicious. My favorite." Father saying 'my favorite' makes me laugh a little, and makes me very glad. Probably his 'always' was about that same promise.
What I learned today: to taste the same every year, you have to blend anew every year.
What this wine is
Johann-Joseph Krug was born in 1800 in Mainz, Germany, the son of a butcher. He crossed into France in the 1820s and settled in Champagne, learning the trade at the house of Jacquesson. His fluency in French, English and German — with a little Russian — became the foundation for reaching international markets, and in 1843 he founded his own house in Reims under his own name.
Krug's identity has boiled down to one idea from the founding to today: if a vintage Champagne speaks for "that year," Grande Cuvée promises "the same Krug-ness, year after year." In practice that means blending ten-odd different vintages and 120-odd individual wines, then cellaring at least six years — a production cycle running nearly twenty years bottle to bottle. Since 2011 every bottle carries a six-digit Krug ID on the back label: the first digit marks the release quarter, the next two the year, letting you look up that exact bottle's blend through the Krug app. I never noted which edition this particular bottle was, but Vivino reviews alone mention the 164th, 169th, 172nd and 173rd editions of Grande Cuvée in circulation — each with its own vintage makeup.
LVMH acquired Krug from Rémy Cointreau in January 1999, and the Krug family has stayed involved in major decisions since. I also went looking for a story about Madame Krug's resistance activity during World War II, but what I could actually confirm belongs to a different war: during World War I, while her husband Joseph Krug II was held as a prisoner on the Western Front, his wife Jeanne Krug ran the house in his absence. I'm correcting the record here rather than repeating an unverified claim.
What the world says
This Grande Cuvée has been rated by 39,670 people on Vivino, averaging 4.6 — the largest sample of any wine this magazine has covered. It ranks 690th among 3.36 million French wines and 2,640th of 12.35 million worldwide. Nearly 30 critic scores are on file, ranging from 93 in 1999 to 98 in 2018, mostly clustered in the 92–98 range and trending upward from the 2010s on.
The flavor keywords lead decisively with the bread-and-nut group — brioche, toast, almond, hazelnut — at 3,262 mentions, followed by citrus and lemon (2,051), apple, pear and apricot (1,808), honey and minerals (1,548), and butter, oak and vanilla (1,085). Structure: acidity 4.3/5, fizziness 4.2, intensity 4.1 — the acid is what stands out in a Champagne built for long ageing.
"172nd edition. An amazing and clean edition, citrus apple lemon at first, brioche toast butter creamy palate, hints of hazelnut as well. Smooth finish, overall great." — Vivino review, Apr 2026, 4.7 stars
"Krug always feels like a homecoming. Familiar, comforting and yet endlessly complete, this 172ème Edition delivered its usual layered interplay of brioche, citrus oil, toasted hazelnut and chalk." — Vivino review, May 2026, 4.6 stars
Before this piece, I had given a perfect 5.0 to exactly two wines on this site — Dom Pérignon Brut 2008 and William Hill Central Coast Chardonnay 2015. Krug Grande Cuvée is the third.
How I drank it
"Always delicious. My favorite." 19 December 2019, 5.0 stars — one of the shortest notes I've ever written, but the meaning is clear. That night I opened it alongside Moillard Corton-Charlemagne 1997 (4.5) and Tenuta Luce 2012 (3.5): a white Burgundy to start, this Champagne in the middle, a Tuscan red to close — and this non-vintage Champagne came out on top of all three.
Krug Grande Cuvée shows up several more times in my Vivino log. 23 March 2020, 4.5 stars — "Brioche, honey, citrus, toast, lemon, almond, minerals… my second Krug. Everyone got excited just seeing it on the table. Whether or not it's actually made for Korean food, we all loved it anyway. The honey I tasted when I held it in my mouth still hasn't left me." 16 June 2020, 5.0 stars — "My third~ Absolutely delicious. I've come to realize mood and how you handle the wine matter just as much. From now on I'm hunting down vintage Krug instead of NV." On 1 July 2022 I opened two bottles the same day and scored them 5.0 and 4.5. Most recently, 8 November 2025, 4.5 stars.
Add it up and six entries between 2019 and 2025 read 5.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.0, 4.5, 4.5 — never once below 4.5. "My favorite" wasn't an exaggeration. What I find interesting is the June 2020 note where I wrote that I was ready to move on from NV to vintage Krug — having fully experienced Grande Cuvée's promise of "the same Krug-ness every year," my curiosity had shifted toward what a single year, on its own, tastes like.
Where this wine shows up
From Krug Grande Cuvée to a non-vintage hypermarket bottle, ten Champagnes noted on this magazine, ranked by one consistent yardstick — my own score out of 5 — and lined up against Vivino averages and Wine-Searcher world averages.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (39670 ratings, average 4.6)
| 5★ | 15271 (38%) | |
| 4★ | 22638 (57%) | |
| 3★ | 1414 (4%) | |
| 2★ | 166 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 181 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Bread & nuts (non-oak) | 3262 | brioche 1124 · toast 713 · almond 465 · hazelnut 277 · nutty 231 |
| Citrus | 2051 | citrus 916 · lemon 533 · grapefruit 190 · lime 138 · orange 66 |
| Stone fruit & apple | 1808 | apple 686 · green apple 304 · pear 235 · apricot 185 · peach 121 |
| Earth & honey | 1548 | honey 617 · minerals 352 · smoke 81 · ginger 71 · stone 71 |
| Oak | 1085 | butter 319 · oak 218 · vanilla 147 · caramel 92 · pastry 81 |
| Yeast & cream | 934 | cream 439 · yeast 271 · toasted bread 53 · cheese 48 · lemon curd 38 |
| Spice | 167 | gingerbread 81 · savory 22 · cinnamon 20 · mint 9 · white pepper 7 |
Structure: Acidity 4.3/5 · Intensity 4.1/5 · Fizziness 4.2/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 39670 ratings, average 4.6)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Krug Grande Cuvée?
The non-vintage prestige cuvée from Maison Krug in Reims, Champagne. It blends ten-odd vintages and 120-odd individual wines, cellaring at least six years before release, with the goal of tasting like "Krug" rather than any single year. Vivino: 39,670 ratings averaging 4.6; listed critic scores mostly run 92–98.
How much does it cost?
US$281 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest pork, shellfish, rich fish (salmon, tuna) and mild soft cheese. With acidity at 4.3/5, it also handles rich or fried food well.
What are the "edition" numbers?
Since 2011, Krug has printed a six-digit Krug ID on the back label of every Grande Cuvée bottle. The first digit marks the release quarter and the next two the year, and that code lets you look up which "edition" the bottle belongs to and exactly which vintages went into its blend, via the Krug app. Different editions of the same Grande Cuvée can have quite different blends.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wikipedia — Champagne Krug
- Krug official — Our Story
- The Drinks Business — Krug to number each Grande Cuvée blend
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Tasted the same dayMoillard, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 1997
France · Burgundy★★★★½Tasted the same dayTenuta Luce, Luce 2012 (Toscana)
Italy · Tuscany★★★½☆Same producerTaittinger, Brut Réserve (NV)
France · Champagne★★★★☆Same producerLouis Roederer, Brut Premier (NV)
France · Champagne★★★★☆Similar styleJacques Selosse Lieux-dits Le Bout du Clos Ambonnay Grand Cru Extra Brut
France · Champagne★★★★★Similar styleDeutz, Brut Classic (NV)
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