Krug Vintage Brut 2000

A wonderfully layered and nuanced nose features an intense yeasty character to the maturing fruit that displays interesting phenolic characters, in particular petrol, along with aromas of apple, pear and soft citrus hints. In contrast to the nascent maturity expressed by the nose the flavor profile is still tight and backward with a genuinely gorgeous texture, all wrapped in a strikingly persistent and highly complex finish. For my taste the 2000 Brut is at an inflection point as the nose does offer enough maturity so that it's really quite pretty whereas the palate impression is substantially younger. As such it really just depends on how you prefer your Champagne because I suspect that the nose will be very mature by the time the still very youthful flavors attain their majority. For my taste preferences it would be no vinous crime to begin enjoying this now but be aware that this will age for a very long time. The best approach is probably to buy 6, or even 12, bottles and enjoy them over a longer period of time.

• Reviewer Name: Allen Meadows

(LD210008): Light gold. A heady, complex bouquet evokes orange peel, poached pear, rye bread, honey and toffee, with gingerbread and smoke nuances. Deeply concentrated but energetic, offering intense, chewy orchard and citrus fruit flavors and suggestions of buttered toast, candied fig and anise. The smoky quality comes back strong on the finish, which displays superb breadth, energy and persistence. Showing plenty of early complexity for a vintage Krug but there's the requisite depth and power here to suggest that patience will be rewarded, or at the very least tolerated.

• Reviewer Name: Josh Raynolds
• Review Date: December 2014

The Krug vintage 2000 Brut smells strikingly redolent of sea breeze, kelp, and piles of oyster and mussel shells, allied to lemon oil and toasted hazelnuts. On the palate, the aforementioned elements serve for compulsive salivation, while a lusciously juicy amalgam of lime, grapefruit and apple tinged with piquancy of their pips buoys the salty wave of mineral matter into a profoundly protracted finish that bursts with brightness and at the same time reveals mouthwateringly savory crab shell reduction and a hitherto largely hidden dark side of smoky Latakia tobacco, dark-roasted coffee, and toasted grains. Expect this to merit following for 12-15 years.

• Drinking Window: 2013 - 2028
• Reviewer Name: David Schildknecht
• Review Date: November 2013