93 Krug Grande Cuvee Brut 12/29/04 ($100)
Color: Pretty medium golden with healthy bubbles, but not an overabundance. (3.0) Bouquet: Toast, green apple, dough and yeast. Concentrated and refined. (3.5) Body: Full bodied and balanced with excellent tart acidity and fruit. Restrained power. (3.5) Flavor: Toast and yeast with prominent green apple. (3.0) Finish: Parallels flavor, but more concentrated and long. (3.0)
Overall: Classy Champagne with impressively restrained power. It is still a little young, so I expect it to become richer and more complex with 1-2 years of bottle age. A somewhat creamy style with fruit and power complementing each other, reminiscent of Taitanger Compte de Champagne, but this one has quite a bit of Pinot in it. I could give other Champagnes (vintage from top notch houses) that cost less money equal or better scores, such as Bollinger or Charles Heidsiek, but the class of this wine may make it worth the few (actually 10-20) extra dollars. (16.0)