A richness and intensity with pie crust, bread dough and toast with lots of dried fruits. Almost nutty, like buttered nuts. It's full and layered. A little heavy now but more for the table.

The beautiful release of Krug’s “164ème Édition” is based on the superb vintage of 2008 and has been my favorite recent iteration of Grande Cuvée since I first tasted it in 2017. The wine’s cépages in this release ended up being forty-eight percent pinot noir, thirty-five percent chardonnay and eighteen percent pinot meunier, with reserve wines used in the blend stretching all the way back to 1990. Out of magnum, the wine is still a tad on the young side for my personal tastes and deserves a bit longer in the cellar. However, that does not mean it is not drinking beautifully, offering up scents of apple, pear, caraway seed, almond, a touch of passion fruit, fresh-baked bread, a superb base of chalky minerality and a gently smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, pure and zesty, with lovely depth at the core, fine mineral undertow, impeccable balance and grip, refined mousse and a long, complex and beautifully precise finish.

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. *Five Stars* (SP)