Krug's releases have always shown a wonderful balance between fruit and maturity. This rosé, the 23rd blending, is no exception. The nutty character of a mature Champagne is there along with red fruits, intense acidity from Pinot Noir and impeccable balance at the end. The wine is ready to drink. ROGER VOSS

Krug Rosé has got darker over the years, a statement of intent perhaps, its significant 13% of macerated Pinot Noir sourced from a special plot in Ay. Despite this Chardonnay is the key shareholder in the blend, its 45% outweighing near equal measures of the two Pinots. Gravitas translates on the palate to cherry fruit and spice, herbs and hints of quince and rosemary; unashamedly complex for sure, gastronomically promising without a doubt. For all the power and glory, the wine is fresh, energetic and forward, its unrivalled pedigree immediately obvious for all to behold. (Drink between 2019-2028)

94 +The Krug Rosé “23ème Édition” is the deepest-colored release of this bottling that I can recall, as this wine since its debut has routinely been one of the most delicately-tinted examples of Rosé to be found in all of Champagne. However, the new release is quite a bit deeper salmon in color than previous iterations, though no less elegant and refined. Chef de Cave Eric Lebel and his team at Krug utilized a bit more still pinot noir in the blend this year than in past examples, which no doubt contributes to the slightly darker hue of this release. The new edition was disgorged in the spring of 2017 and includes a blend of vintages from 2011 all the way back to 2000. Because the base year of 2011 was far from typical, fully fifty-six percent of the cuvée this year is composed of reserve wines, with the final cépages working out to be forty-five percent chardonnay, twenty-nine percent pinot noir and twenty-six percent pinot meunier. The wine is aromatically stunning, soaring from the glass in a refined blend of cherries, a touch of tangerine, smoky overtones, rose petals, a beautiful base of gently salty soil elements, lovely and almost exotic spice tones and a hint of rye toast in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and exquisitely complex, with a lovely core of fruit, great soil signature, bright, seamless acids, pinpoint bubbles and great length and grip on the classy and gently vinous finish. Outstanding juice. (Drink between 2019-2050)