register no. 173 · volume iii · leaf 53 · the register kept since mmxvii
clos d'ambonnay
placed2002 · champagne · krug
placed privately. this report is closed.
41mmfill, below the base of the cork
90days at 13.0 °C
17 048alveolus · corridor 02 · face c
173mark no., pressed 4 january 2025
01acquisition26 september 2024hand iipassed
02verification27 september 2024hands i and ivpassed
03rest1 oct – 30 december 2024hand iiipassed
04placement17 june 2026hand iipassed
ithe ninety days
into the rack1 october 2024
out of the ninety days30 december 2024
readings25 920 at five-minute intervals
outside the bandnone. every reading fell inside the band.
humidity65%, held to ±3
air+20 Pa, HEPA and carbon filtered
lightdark at rest. lamps on event only: 6 minutes. dark time 89 d 23 h 54 min.
positionresting, label up. not turned. no lift inside the ninety days.
probeone, in the alveolus · calibrated 19 august 2024 · drift 0.03 °C over the ninety days
logged byhand iii
iithe reading
readingas recordedtakenby
fill41 mm below the base of the cork27 september 2024i
fill, second reading42 mm27 september 2024iv
fill, as catalogued"high fill" — the seller's words26 september 2024ii
methodneck, cm—i
capsuleone nick 3 mm at the lower edge27 september 2024i
corkread through the neck glass. the capsule was not cut and the cork was not drawn; that is the whole of what can be said.27 september 2024i
labela bloom 3 mm, not mould at ×10, not tested27 september 2024i
glass3 bubbles in the wall, largest 2 mm27 september 2024iv
weight1 219 g gross27 september 2024i
colour at the shouldernot assessed. the bottle was not held to the light through the wine.——
seepagenone found at the capsule or the neck27 september 2024i
volumenot measured. it cannot be measured without opening it.——
provenance before 2014not established. see the third column of provenance.——
re-reading after the ninety daysno change from the first sitting30 december 2024i
readings are entered at the date they were taken. a reading that was wrong is corrected on a new line and both readings stay in the report. two readings that are both right and differ are both printed. the house does not average.
iiithe lines
0126 september 202401one bottle bought at a december sale, geneva, lot 1465. the seller's cellar record goes with it.hand ii
0227 september 202401carried in its resting position. the carrier's log reads 483 readings at two-minute intervals, 0 d 16 h 6 min, peak 14.9 °C held 22 minutes.hand ii
0302first sitting. bench at 20.1 °C. raking light at 2200 k, the beam across the glass at a low angle, one side then the other.hand i
0409:4002fill read 41 mm below the base of the cork. the capsule was not cut and the cork was not drawn.hand i
0509:5202fill entered at 41 mm.hand isuperseded · see the line below
0610:0502second sitting, blind to the first.hand iv
0710:1902fill read 42 mm. the difference is 1 mm and is inside the ±2 mm tolerance of the method. both readings stand; the register does not average.hand ivcorrection to the line above
081 october 202403into the rack. alveolus 17 048.hand iii
0930 december 202403lifted from the rack for the re-read. back in alveolus 17 048 the same day.hand iii
1003out of the ninety days. re-read at the shoulder before the press; no change from the first sitting.hand i
114 january 202504lifted from the rack for the press. back in alveolus 17 048 the same day.hand iii
1204mark no. 173 pressed on the shoulder, facing the label. the report is numbered to it.hand iwitnessed, hand iv
1317 june 202604placed privately, to one collector. the collector is not named in this register.hand ii
1404lifted from the rack at 43 seconds. the house holds forty-five and does not amend it on one lift.hand iii
ivwhat was not established
- the wine was not tasted. nothing in this report is a note on how it drinks.
- the cork was not drawn. what is said of it was read through the neck glass.
- no grade was given. this house does not grade, and there is no blank here where a grade would go.
- this is not a certificate of authenticity. it is a record of what was seen.
- the years before 2014 rest on the seller's own record and were not verified here.
- the volume in the bottle was not measured; it cannot be measured without opening it.
vprovenance
as stated2003 · the domaine, on release2003–2014 · one cellar, unnamed2014 · sold, a december sale, geneva
as seen herethe seller's cellar record, 2014–2024, dated and continuousthe sale invoice, 26 september 2024the carrier's log, 27 september 2024nine plates taken here under raking light
not in our handsnothing before 2014 in any document we holdno cellar temperature record for the years before 2014no photograph of the bottle before it reached this house
vithe alveolus
address17 048 · corridor 02 · face c · row 19 · column 44
how it is numberedface a to face j, row 1 at the floor upward, column 1 at the pass-through end. ten faces, 2 578 columns between them, 24 rows to a face: 24 × 2 578 = 61 872.
height above the floor2 200 mm
distance to the pass-through6.0 m · single depth, one bottle to an alveolus
retrieval43 seconds on this bottle. the house holds forty-five seconds and does not amend it on one lift.
liftedthree times: 30 december 2024 for the re-read at the shoulder, 4 january 2025 for the press, 17 june 2026 when it was placed. the public pages say a bottle leaves the rack once, when it is placed; that is the lift the collector is told about and it is true of it. the register counts the house's own lifts as well.
to be liftednot again. it left the caveau on 17 june 2026.
viithe mark
mark no.173
pressed4 january 2025 · by hand i · witnessed by hand iv
stockcotton rag · hand press, one strike, not re-struck
positionon the shoulder, facing the label
numbered tothis report, register no. 173
proofone plate in the file
the mark is pressed when the ninety days are complete and before the bottle is offered, because the number on the shoulder is the number of the report and the report is finished first. a bottle that fails a stage never receives it. a bottle that is offered and not placed carries the mark and goes back to the rack.
viiithe file, and the term
the file
platesnine, raking light
proof of the markone plate
the saleinvoice and cellar record, 26 september 2024
carrier's log483 readings, 0 d 16 h 6 min
rest log25 920 readings
heldin the file, with the bottle
the term
statusplaced
placedprivately · 17 june 2026
pricenot published. this house sells by private treaty.
travels with the bottlethis report and the plates
this report is closed.
written byhand i
re-read byhand iv
last line17 june 2026
signed for the house4 january 2025
a signature here means one person read the bottle and one other read it again without seeing the first reading. it does not mean the wine is good, and it does not mean the bottle is guaranteed to be what the label says. it means two people looked and wrote down what they saw.
nothing in this report is erased. a correction is a new line with its own date, and the line it corrects stays where it was written. hands are entered by number and the house does not print names, its own or anyone else’s. collectors and enquirers are not named. prices are not entered.