1995 Krug Clos d'Ambonnay

One of those wines I am thrilled to have tasted, and even happier someone else paid the freight. The debut vintage for this insanely expensive wine showed loads of brioche, apple, Meyer lemon peel. stone, rocks and minerality. Concentrated and lushly textured in its effervescence, clearly, this is a very good Champagne. But there are better places for your $2,500 for a single bottle of wine. 96 Points

Thrown in as a ringer, the 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay is a real treat to taste next to the 1996. In particular, tasting both vintages together shows that that 1995 is the more complete of these two first releases of Krug’s single-vineyard Champagne from Ambonnay. Finely-cut fruit, expressive aromatics and exceptional textural finesse are the signatures. This is another fabulous showing from the 1995 Clos d’Ambonnay.

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. Importer: Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 251-8200