Krug Brut Champagne (Library Edition) 1998

100 points Gilbert & Gaillard: "Deep gold with amber highlights. Open nose with an assertive fruity character (apricot, dried fig). The palate shows an exemplary mix of presence, vinosity and freshness. Sensation of fullness and huge length. An awesome Champagne. (Mar 2012)"

98 points Wine Spectator: "This harmonious Champagne offers luxurious texture, aromatic accents of spring blossom, crushed thyme and chai, powerful, focused acidity and rich notes of lemon meringue, hazelnut, black currant and fresh porcini mushroom. The full package. Impressive. Drink now through 2028. (11/30/12)"

98 points and '100 Best Wines of 2013,' Wine & Spirits: "If you are a Krug classicist, this is your wine. There’s nothing like it, other than prior great vintages of Krug (and perhaps the 2002, when that breaks away from the cellar). My notes on this wine are extensive, but the one word underlined is Kruggy: It has the power and stodgy brilliance of Krug. The depth of the wine is hard to describe, with ethereal quince and sweet spice providing sunniness to counter the gravitas of the structure. It brought to mind the crostini topped with uni and lardo at Marea in NYC -- a dish that would bring out the layers of lime, lemon zest and shellfish broth in this wine. It would also match well with rich Lyonnaise cuisine, a foie gras terrine, duck confit...whether you open it now or in 20 years. (Dec 2012)"

97+ points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 1998 Blanc de Blancs Clos du Mesnil has developed beautifully since I last tasted it. What a wine. For the first few years of its life, the 1998 seemed to lack personality, then, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, it blossomed. Today, the 1998 is rich, powerful and explosive, none of which was a few years ago. Layers of textured fruit, pastry, spices and crushed rocks jump from the glass. Still an infant, the 1998 promises to drink well for two to three decades. This is without question the best bottle of the 1998 I have ever tasted. Time to do another complete vertical? (May 2013)"

96 points Decanter: "From the very start, everything was perfectly in place in this 1998. It remains complex, developed, generous, rich and smooth--a magnificent wine which is reminiscent of a Montrachet. Alcohol 12.5%. (Jun 2017)"

94-96 points Richard Juhlin: "Enormously fascinating to see how Krug has succeeded in avoiding a single oxidated grape this risky year, despite their extensive procuration of grapes from different sources. This wine is fantastically focused and unmistakeably stamped with the Krug trademark. Seductively mellow right through the elegant, classical flavour that is as united as a well-trimmed Russian machine team from the 70s. Somewhere between 89, 95 and 96 in character. (Jun 2012)"

95 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "It had been three years since I last crossed paths with a bottle of the 1998 Krug Vintage and the wine was just starting to blossom when I had it back in the summer of 2013. Three more years of bottle age have really done justice to this excellent wine and this most recent bottle was absolutely wide open and singing on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is deep, pure and shows a lovely, almost exotic sheen of fresh nutmeg and fresh coconut to augment more classic Krug notes of peach, tangerine, patissière, caraway seed and a glorious base of soil tones. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and inviting on the attack, with a rock solid core, great transparency, refined mousse and exceptional length and grip on the very long and focused finish. Just a beautiful vintage of Krug that is now reaching its apogee and promises to dazzle for the next several decades. 2016-2045. (May/Jun 2016)"

95 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): "The 1998 vintage has a very alluring nose of brioche, crushed stones, allspice, peaches and fresh pears plus a hint of praline. The palate is still very tight and youthful with a fine acid backbone, commendably persistent bubbles and a long minerally finish. (May 2012)"

95 points Neal Martin (Wine Journal): "Tasted at Berry Brothers & Rudd. A very fine mousse. The nose is quite tight and requires some coaxing from the glass with slightly grassy aromas at first, but giving way to hints of yellow flowers, smoke, flint, a hint of wet pavement and morning dew. The palate has wonderful delineation upon entry, very natural and harmonious, like the Grande Cuvee exuding a sense of effortlessness. Touches of freshly cut lime, leading to a stony mid-palate with lovely focus and great poise. A spine tingling edgy finish with a touch of brioche on the lingering aftertaste. Tasted October 2008. (May 2009)"

95 points Allen Meadows (Burghound): " I love the '98 Champagne vintage and this wine is one of the reasons why with its moderately golden color and fully mature nose where the yeast character is especially prominent on the baked apple and brown butter scents. There is less apparent evolution on the still somewhat tightly wound medium-bodied flavors that flash both good concentration and power that carries over to the very dry and still moderately austere if impressively complex finale. While I like this wine quite a bit, if I'm extremely picky, the evolution of the nose and palate aren't completely in harmony and it's not clear that they will ever fully synchronize. Optimists could certainly continue to cellar it without fear of it declining. With that said, I could drink this anytime! Tasted twice this year in this format with consistent results. Drink: now+. (Oct 2024)"

95 points Essi Avellan, MW: "Deep, evolved, ripe fruity nose of toast, dried fruit, nuts and bruised apple complexity. Concentrated, vinous and powerful palate, which comes with the smoothest mousse. Open, accessible and impressively well built palate that comes with an accentuated ripe appley fruit character. Shows already signs of evolution but there is of fruit left for ageing. (Dec 2021)"