Krug Brut Champagne Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil 2008

100 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2022 in France and Australia; 100% chardonnay; single vineyard Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; fermented exclusively in old casks, of average age 17 years, and up to 50 years; partial malolactic fermentation; disgorged summer 2021; ID 321045; 20th release since 1979; 13,160 individually numbered bottles and 500 magnums). Krug Clos du Mesnil 2008 is arguably the most anticipated champagne release of the decade and it touches down in the glass at long last in a poignant absence of fanfare or ceremony. It possesses an inherent coiled reticence from the outset, a tense and compact singularity that even after fourteen years begs for the passage of time to draw it out. I contemplated, interrogated and wrestled with Clos du Mesnil 2008 for a full 25 minutes before it finally relinquished, revealing itself in such sheer brilliance that it brought me to tears. Still a brilliant pale straw hue, a pure shard of crystalline chalk minerality erupts, declaring the signature of this fabled clos, charged with high tensile energy that only the scintillating 2008 season can deliver. Pure, luminous white fruits bask in the exuberance of barrel fermentation like only Krug can deliver, conjuring silky, creamy, mouth-seducing texture that brings a mood of calm utterly astonishing in the midst of such a chilling avalanche of glittering chalk mineral snow. Pinpoint accurate in every detail, with a core of intensity, concentration and confidence that belie such brilliant structural poise and drive, build around a streamlined frame of malic of impeccable ripeness, yet charged with all the energy to sustain it for a half century and beyond. Exceptional line and length carry the finish with unerring precision for a full forty seconds. It goes without saying that this is one of the greatest champagnes of the modern era, and it is charged with the potential to outlive anybody reading these words. Clos du Mesnil completes the uppermost apex of the triangle of Krug 2008s (Vintage and Edition 164), together a trilogy of which I cannot recall an equal in champagne in my lifetime. (Edition VII; 2024)"

100 points Peter Moser (Falstaff): "Medium greenish yellow, fine golden reflections, delicate, integrated mousse. A hint of fresh lime and almond cake, nuances of orange marmalade, ethereal notes, some lemon balm, dark minerality, a multi-faceted bouquet. Taut on the palate, underlying cookie, full-bodied and elegant, fine ripe fruitiness with white stone fruit, lemony nuances, some candied kumquats, convincing freshness, salty notes, some herbal savouriness in the finish, has great length and assured ageing potential; a wine of convincing depth and character. Alcohol 12.5%. (10/11/22)"

100 points Bettane & Desseauve Guide (2023).

99 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2008 vintage of Clos du Mesnil is slated to be released in September of this year. I was fortunate to have a chance to preview the wine during Krug’s Cellar Master, Julie Cavil’s recent visit to New York. As readers may recall, 2008 was a very classically-styled vintage, which Julie terms the “last traditional growing season we have had in Champagne,” with the grapes for the Clos du Mesnil having been harvested between September 19th and 21st of this year. The wine was aged for more than a dozen years sur latte and is truly stunning, offering up a precise, chiseled bouquet of pear, apple, a touch of passion fruit, salty limestone minerality, pastry tones, dried flowers and a topnote of lemon zest. On the palate the wine is deep, pure, full-bodied and laser-like in its precision, with a beautiful core of fruit, great mineral drive and cut, utterly refined mousse and a very, very long, seamlessly balanced and hauntingly complex finish. This wine may close down again once it has a chance to settle in from travel, but for the moment, it is beautifully balanced that it is quite accessible in its youthful guise. This will be a legendary vintage of Clos du Mesnil in the years to come and should prove to be almost timeless and probably will merit a perfect score when it reaches its pinnacle of maturity a decade or two down the road! 2022-2085. (May/Jun 2022)"

99 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "Krug’s 2008 Clos du Mesnil, tasted from two bottles, is a very, very special Champagne. Soaring aromatics, fine, chiseled fruit and understated depth are the signatures of a Champagne that is immediately captivating. Bright, salivating acids run through a core of citrus fruit, lemon oil, slate, chalk, mint and white pepper. A touch of reduction and a superb, fine mousse move the 2008 into a realm that straddles Champagne and a distinctly Burgundian expression of Chardonnay. The 2008 is going to be expensive, and I am already hearing that allocations will be miniscule. For readers who can find it, the 2008 is an essential Clos du Mesnil that will take its place among the greatest vintages made here, specifically the 1979, 1988 and 1996. If anyone wants to organize a comparative tasting of the four, plus maybe the 2004, I’m game! The 2008 Clos du Mesnil is a magnificent Champagne to savor over the next several decades. Drink: 2026-2048. (May 2022)"

99 points La Revue du Vin de France: "We've been waiting for the release of Clos du Mesnil 2008, and we're not disappointed: the wine delivers a fine, elegant structure and a graceful mousse. It has incredible scope and tension. Clearly a great vintage. (2023)"

99 points James Suckling: "This is a powerful, sensual and intense Blanc de Blancs with lots of chalk, lemon, apricot stone, walnut, flint, biscuit, toast, white grapefruit and quince. Vibrant. tight and structured. Tight bubbles and a sharp backbone of acidity. Very long and persistent. Keeps going. Still a baby. Dosage 4g/L. Drink or hold. (6/28/22)"

99 points Richard Juhlin (The Champagne Club): "Every time I encounter my favorite wine, Krug Clos du Mesnil, I get goosebumps while my senses are heightened. This time we meet together with Krug's management and my traveling party from the Champagne Club on Boulevard Lundy in Reims. Details so small, and to the uninitiated almost invisible, arouse my emotional interest. While the specially composed music enhances our impressions, I can't help but wonder if everyone understands how grand this is. How wide is the difference in individual perception? Is it moments like this and my special ability to go deep into the soul of wine that made me dedicate my life to this divine drink? Should I be happy about my innate and trained talent or should I be sad that so many will miss the greatness of encountering one of the world's greatest treasures of pleasure? A faint sea breeze, freshly laundered sheets, a hint of orange liqueur, a note of the spark when an iron skewer meets flint, sunny chalk on a June morning in the Côte des Blancs, oyster shells on the granite slab washed by the foaming waves of Bretagne, vibrating nervousness, freshly squeezed Sorrento lemon, white peach, walnut oil, soloistic clarity, multifaceted transience, crystal clear uplifting rippling alpine stream, jasmine, the white lilacs at our country estate. Colors of grey, white, orange, neon green and lemon yellow interact with the music and the unimaginable youthful vibrancy of the wine. Everything swirls past in an incredibly floating and perfectly coordinated Pas de deux. There is an indescribable class here that can only be compared to Raveneau Les Clos and Montrachet from Lafon or DRC. The similarities are striking with these majestic cannons, but the fragile elegance is even greater in this simultaneously young and ultra-fresh storage wine. (Jun 2024)"

98+ points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "Disgorged a year ago, Krug's 2008 Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil unwinds in the glass with notes of citrus oil, nougat, honeycomb, white flowers and a discreet hint of buttered toast and hazelnuts. Full-bodied, layered and chiseled, it's a taut, concentrated wine with a tightly wound core that's underpinned by a racy spine of acidity, complemented by a pretty pinpoint mousse and concluding with a long, chalky finish. Austerity without asperity is how I'd characterize this wine; and interestingly, though Krug likens their monovarietal single-vineyard cuvées to soloists vis-à-vis the orchestra of Grande Cuvée, in 2008 it's the Clos du Mesnil-sur-Oger—the soloist—that has produced the house's most complete wine. Given its structure and tension, it goes without saying that this will richly reward bottle age. Drink: 2025-2055. (6/30/22)"

98 points Wine Spectator: "A harmonious Champagne that marries the power and grace of a prima ballerina. Delivers a racy streak of acidity that's effortlessly knit to the layered range of tangerine, madeleine cake, dried mint and white blossoms, pink grapefruit sorbet and crushed hazelnut and almond notes. Finely detailed in texture -- almost luxuriously creamy -- echoing a pronounced note of salty minerality on the finish. Disgorged summer 2021. Drink now through 2038. (3/31/23)"