Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Starting the long Labor Day weekend in Big Sur the right way with a little N/V Krug Grande Cuvée. @Nepenthe

Happy Labor Day weekend all! 🍾🥂

Noses reveals; heavy bruised red apple, Bosc pear, overripe pineapple, lemon meringue, tropical melons, lime zest, white spice, sea fossils, deep crisp chalkiness, grey volcanics, yeast & bread dough, nougat, baguette crust, limestone, caramel notes, cream, vanillin framed in yellow lilies, white & spring flowers & mixed greens.

The palate is, ripe, lush, fresh and lively. The mouthfeel all Krug beautiful. Bruised red & golden apple with hints of cider, Bosc pear, overripe pineapple, lemon meringue, tropical melons, white stone fruits, lime zest/candy, white spice, sea fossils, crisp chalkiness, grey volcanics, yeast & bread dough, nougat, baguette crust, limestone, caramel notes, cream, cream soda, vanillin framed in yellow lilies, spring flowers & mixed greens. The acidity is near perfect. The long, elegant, well knitted & balanced finish is gentle until the long set when you get a full presence of white spice and minerality that persists for minutes.

This bottle was composed around 2011 and is made from over 120 different wines that span over 10 years. It is 47% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay & 17% Pinot Meunier. — 6 years ago

Rhonely Boy

9.2

Clear, light lemon yellow

Clean, medium intense notes of white floral, stones, clay, lemon, beeswax. Soft and pretty nose.

Dry, medium acid body and alcohol (13.2% ABV). Flavors of lemon, mild apricot, mineral. Finish is a medium+

Very good, and would love to revisit this vintage in the future. Brie & apricot pizza.

Would be interested to see a Roussanne+Marsanne collaboration with Donkey & Goat (Skin Fermented Marsanne)

NOTES: “Most of the wine was fermented and aged in a clay Amphorae with the remainder in barrel.” — 8 years ago

Michael Mallon

9.0

Big, rich chard. Butter, baked apples, lemon curd, toast. — 9 years ago

Philip Faure

9.1

Lovely and creamy — 9 years ago

Chris LoRusso

9.5

Very special Chardonnay from Spring Mountain with a perfect balance of Oak and acidity. — 10 years ago

Kellie

10

The perfect amount of pear and butter, with a crisp finish — 10 years ago

Judd Blair

9.5

As far as big houses go, always been a fan of the special cuvée. This is a cut above - lots and lots of biscuit and toast, but very well integrated, bit of dried apricot and a slight tinge of bitter oxidation rounding out this one - fantastic sparkler. — 11 years ago

Marcy Simon

9.8

Miroculus.com invest with us — 12 years ago

with Jorge

Lucy Macon

10

My absolute favorite wine ever! — 13 years ago

Kaitlyn Jungblut

9.1

Dry white with fruity notes — 6 years ago

Tom Elwell

9.5

Big guns - seriously good fizz. — 8 years ago

Dan Michael

9.5

Wow, just wow, this is simply one of the best wines I have tasted. Toasty nose, big and rich without being heavy, perfect with everything on the table, awesome experience! — 8 years ago

Bryan Hopkins

9.0

Honey, yeast, tart green apple and barely ripe pear. Very nice, although lower end sparklers are getting good enough that it’s getting harder and harder to justify to myself paying the price for these big names. — 8 years ago

Scott Stewart

9.2

As good as his Pinot and Gamy is, the Chardonnay's coming off of Doug's vineyard in Ribbon Ridge are even better. — 9 years ago

Olga Litvinova

9.5

Чернослив и гуава — 10 years ago

Mark Freund

9.4

Showing terrific now. Better than last bottle opened 2 years ago. Honeyed richness, good length. Shows class joy would expect from the house. — 10 years ago

with Erin and Ned

Gabrielle McEntee

9.9

Liquid gold. Big, fat, delicious California Chardonnay. — 11 years ago

with Charles

Laura Valensisi

9.3

Turns out, I like Chardonnays. I had it paired with scallops crudo. I perfect combination. It you think you don't like Chardonnays, try ones outside of the U.S. They are generally smoother and crisper than the American ones I've tried. This 2012 vintage of Nugan Chardonnay was delicious. It was fresh and a perfect beginning to a delicious meal. — 11 years ago

Moreno Luis

9.4

An ICON. Superb, even belonging to a big big corporation. — 12 years ago

Kate Morin

9.5

@ SuWu on St Laurent avec Yohan et Josee before Rachid Badouri show — 13 years ago

Amit Srivastava

9.3

Great way to celebrate moving on to the next chapter of life after 24 years (half my life!) at the Big ‘O’.. Thanks Gunja. Lovely champagne 🥂 — 7 years ago

with Gunja

Ted Corvey

9.1

Great QPR. I enjoy this a lot more than other big house NV blends. Super consistent but tastes more focused and unique. — 8 years ago

Cody Short

9.2

Big, rich and tasty — 8 years ago

Erik Wochna

8.9

14' vintage — 8 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.3

Very consistent, big and rich, almost oily in the glass with oak, sweet spice, and rich, honeyed flavors. Cleans up nicely with a mineral finish. — 9 years ago

Shannon Saylor

8.9

Really liked. I'm learning I like red blends of wine. — 10 years ago

Dave Wood

9.2

Almost amber in color with tropical and floral nose. The color belies the fact this is not an over extracted sweet juice. Beautifully bone dry with great acidity. Super. — 11 years ago

Jason Birkett

9.3

2012 vintage. Big,rich, creamy...awesome — 11 years ago

Jonathan Self

9.0

Exactly what you expect from a blend like this. Very new world drinkable on its own. I would bring this to a party. Very low acid and big juicy berries. Not very dynamic of complex however. — 12 years ago

Matt S

9.0

Our house white. Nice and affordable if you do the rebates when it's on sale — 12 years ago