Krug Brut Champagne Grande Cuvée Edition 164 NV

99 points Charles Curtis, MW (Decanter): "This Grande Cuvée, based on the epic 2008 vintage, surely foreshadows the potential of the vintage wine of the same year. This is superb, with a smoky intensity to the tropical passionfruit and pomelo citrus notes. A depth and complexity of flavour here seldom equalled in Champagne, and a lively energy on the palate carry the wine to a gracefully persistent finish. This exquisite wine is drinking now, but will undoubtedly continue to age. If vintage 2008 has more potential, the Krug Grande Cuvée 164th edition assuredly gives more pleasure now. Drinking Window: 2022-2045. (6/18/22)"

97-99 points Essi Avellan, MW: "(48% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, 17% Meunier). 12/2021: Deep, brilliant gold-hued colour. Expressive, stylishly oak-lined, brioche, apple, and honey nose with luscious vanilla and perky spicy complexity. Voluptious and intense the palate is particularly firm and feisty with beautiful vivacity and tight acid line. Elegant, detailed and packed with life (ID 216016). The same ID bottle was tasted 2,5 years later in December 2019: It still comes with a cool and restrained character, really stylish and complex, but craving further time... In December 2021 the same disgorgement was ever so glorious, ageing slowly and ceeping its cool, crisp profile. Lot’s of age ahead of this one! 9/2023 Krug ID 317025: Utterly refined, pure and precise wine with stunning peppery spicy evolution and vibrancy. Still climbing up. (Sep 2023)"

98 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2023 in France; 68% 2008, 32% reserves; 35% chardonnay, 48% pinot noir, 17% meunier; 127 wines from 11 years from 1990 to 2008; disgorged summer 2017; ID 317025). Olivier Krug upholds that no Grande Cuvée is better than any other, but the sheer energy, purity and mesmerising allure of 2008 elevate this release to a plane of pinpoint, pristine delight and endurance that transcends all others. It is as beach fresh as the day it was first released, with a core of malic energy of stratospheric levels, promising a half century of potential. It marries this with the full, expansive complexity that is Krug, spanning bees wax, honey and preserved lemon. Alongside the 2013 base of Édition 169 as my favourite Grande Cuvées of all. Epic. (Edition VII; 2024)"

98 points James Suckling: "Intense and complex, with lots of buttered toast, salted caramel, apricot compote, raspberries, praline, marmalade, white chocolate and preserved lemons. So much packed in the broad, deep and rich palate, yet bound together with sharp acidity and tight bubbles. So long and generous. 48% pinot noir, 35% chardonnay and 17% pinot meunier. Blend of 127 wines from 11 vintages, based on 2008 and going back to 1990. Drink or hold. (6/28/22)"

98 points Falstaff: "Light yellow gold with silver reflections and a very fine, persistent mousse. Fine blossom honey, tangerine, kumquat, yellow peach, white nougat - immensely multifaceted and fresh. Complex, juicy, with fine stone fruit, it is lively and taut with a touch of biscuit and almond on the finish. It is mineral and has a fine lime touch. The wine lingers long and has great ageing potential. One of the best Grand Cuvées ever made, definite ageing potential for decades. (11/5/23)"

97 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "A stellar Champagne, Krug"s NV Grande Cuvée 164ème Édition, (2008 base vintage) is painfully tight. The 164 is a fabulous wine, but readers should not fall into the temptation of opening a bottle anytime soon. Crushed rocks, slate, mint, sage and white pepper lend striking aromatic brightness. The 164 is just as compelling as it has always been. Even so, it needs time to be at its very best. The 164 is a blend based on 2008, with reserve wines back to 1990. Krug ID: 316031. DrinK: 2028-2048. (Nov 2021)"

97 points Jasper Morris, MW (Inside Burgundy): "A tightly wound and austere Grande Cuvée, the base vintage shouts loudest (reserve wines add subtle depth and interest, but the effects are subtle at this early stage). A lovely finesse of oak, the wood is harmoniously integrated adding a light dusting of vanilla to the ensemble. The palate possesses amazing density and promises massive complexity far into the future. A stunning edition of Grande Cuvée that you really ought to seek out. (11/5/19)"

97 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 164ème Édition of Grande Cuvée remains the single finest rendition of this bottling that I have tasted since the team at Krug began numbering their releases of Grand Cuvée. Readers will recall that this version is from the base year of 2008 and the wine is now fully into its apogee of peak drinkability, where I would anticipate it will comfortably reside for the next quarter century. The wine delivers a stunning bouquet of pear, white peach, almond, passion fruit, incipient notes of caraway seed, a beautiful base of chalky soil, warm bread and a potpourri of fruit blossoms in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with an excellent core of pure fruit, fine mineral undertow and grip, refined mousse and a very long, focused and stunningly complex finish. I love the precision of both the fruit and minerality here, coupled to effortless balance and a great sense of backend lift. 2022-2065. (Jul/Aug 2022)"

97 points The Wine Independent (Nov 2023).

96 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "Based on the 2008 vintage, Krug's NV Grande Cuvée 164ème Édition is really beginning to drink with some style, bursting from the glass with complex aromas of tangerine oil, crisp yellow apple, dried fruits, buttered toast, iodine and honeycomb, uniting attributes of youth and maturity, all wrapped up in Krug's signature toasty patina. Full-bodied, seamless and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit, racy acids and an envelopingly pillowy mousse, it's an intense, sapid wine that is emerging as one of the best "young" renditions of Grande Cuvée for drinking today. Drink: 2021-2038. (Jun 2022)"