TN: 1996 Krug vs. 1996 Salon, Dujac, 1976 Coutet

WINE TALK
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EPIC CHAMPAGNE TASTING - Fringale, San Francisco (6/12/2013)

This was a lovely dinner centered around an epic champagne faceoff: The 1996 Krug vs. 1996 Salon. Both were superb wines. I think the Krug opened up nicely over the course of the evening and had a fabulous oxidative complexity, but the Salon stole the show for me. Even though it was younger and didn’t show as much development today, it had fabulous acidity and a much longer finish that portend greater development ahead than the Krug, in my opinion. It was fabulous to taste both today, though if I was buying I would go with the Salon over the Krug.

The Dujac Vosne Romanee was excellent as well, showing characteristic spice and a lot of complexity. This was surprisingly open and available for tasting today, and I was glad since it’s rare that I get to try Dujac. A great showing.

My 1976 Coutet showed well today too. It was at a great stage of maturity showing just enough fruit but also secondary and tertiary character. Based on my last note, it may have progressed and aged a bit over the last two years, but definitely still shares some characteristic of the first bottle that I opened. I’m glad I purchased these from the chateau (through the Wine House in SF), since they were both great experiences.

The food at Fringale was French Bistro food. Quite good, but nothing particularly special that would draw me back. The corn soup was well made but not distinctive. The duck was tender and crispy on the outside. I think the real strength was with dessert, which was delicious (though I focused more on my sauternes instead of ordering my own dessert).

  • 1996 Salon Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs - France, Champagne, Le Mesnil Sur Oger, Champagne
    Light gold color; nose has lovely balance and not very oxidative with slight yeast and pear fruit; fabulous acidity on the palate that adds great freshness and vibrancy to the wine, perfect bubbles, lovely tart green apple fruit, very young; finish is long and fresh. The most impressive characteristic of this wine is definitely the balance and the long finish. This seems very young with a lot of potential for improvement, and it seems like a good buy if you can find a decent price. (I would buy this over the 96 Krug for the same price, despite the fact that the Krug is arguably drinking slightly better today.) 95++ (95-98 with time) (95 pts.)
  • 1996 Krug Champagne Brut - France, Champagne
    Deep golden color; nose of brioche, fresh but also oxidative, some fruit; palate is a bit oxidative as well, notable red apple, fantastic bubbles, caramel, acidity that is not over the top but provides much freshness and lightness to the palate; medium length finish. This is drinking really well now, perhaps better than the 1996 Salon today, but it seems closer to its peak than the still very young Salon. The Krug is a superb slightly oxidative style of Champagne at very early maturity with a long road ahead. I would buy the Salon for the same price, but this is still superb. 96 (96 pts.)
  • 1996 Domaine Dujac Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
    Light to medium ruby-red color with only a little bricking; nose shows nice spice, red cherry fruit, very aromatic, a little stemmy (green notes) which I like, slight earthy beetroot; palate is light bodied, good fresh acidity, red cherry fruit, midpalate develops earthy complexity; finish is medium length. This is an excellent burgundy that is near early maturity with a plateau ahead, drinking well now with good complexity on the nose and palate. A very good wine, but expensive for the quality. 92 (92 pts.)
  • 1976 Château Coutet - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Barsac
    Orange gold color; nose of some caramel, dried apricot, juicy fruit, saffron comes out in the nose with some air; sweet but balanced acidity in the midpalate, slight metallic copper, orange bitters; medium-long finish. Perfectly mature and ready to drink now. Based on my last note on this bottle, it seems like it has progressed a bit, and I would drink up within the next couple of years. Direct from the chateau, and worth the asking price of $80 for well aged sauternes. 91-92 (92 pts.)

Thanks all for a wonderful dinner!
Posted from CellarTracker

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The taste off between two legendary champagnes. Great.

Very tempted to open a bottle of either from my cellar. But I haven’t got many so I will restrain for the time being. Probably start with the Krug first and Salon later.

3

That is the right order. The Krug will drink better than the Salon now, but the Salon will drink better than the Krug later.

4

Ashish,
I remember lining them both up on release, both fantastic but I gave the nod to the Salon. Have had the 96 Krug from magnum and the 96 Salon from bottle in the last few months and I still give the nod just to the Salon. Both brilliant Champagnes.
Best Regards
Jeremy

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Same, although the Krug (even from magnum) is really now looking much more developed compared to the Salon IMHO.

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On the one occasion when I’ve had both the '96 Salon and Krug together, it’s been a no-contest - '96 Krug is great, but the Salon is one of the most spectacular Champagnes I’ve ever enjoyed and my benchmark for young Champagne.

7

this^

i’ve been fortunate enough to have tried the 96 salon a dozen times and at least over a half dozen 96 krugs. they are both equally great alone, but side by side - salon is king.

cheers,

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Also did this on release. I liked the Salon better but remember thinking that eventually the Krug would be better. Tried it again a few years later and thought the same. Hopefully, I will do it again in ten years and see. Thanks for the notes.