TN: Kracher 2017 Zweigelt Beerenauslese

Berserkers,

The name Kracher is affixed to the labels of the greatest sweet wines ever to come out of Austria. The late Alois Kracher Sr. was one of the first TBA makers in Austria and was so devoted to their potential that his winery was specifically created to produce sweet wines primarily with the occasional supplemental table wines. This is of course the exact reverse of how every other winery in the world does business. His son Alois Kracher Jr., a trained chemist, helped bring about an Austrian sweet wine renaissance in the 90’s and 2000’s. During his tenure as head winemaker, Krachers became highly coveted sweet wines that gained immense popularity and demand worldwide, particularly in China and the USA, that outstripped that even in their own European homebase.

Sadly, tragedy struck the family as Alois Kracher Jr. passed suddenly in 2009 at just 48 years of age at the height of his success. His father passed away shortly thereafter in 2010. This left Kracher Jr.'s son Gehrard as the third generation heir and director of the Kracher estate, and he still manages it today with his partner Yvonne. Their most recent release is the 2017 Collection of sweet wines. From this collection, I secured the following from the LCBO and am happy to share a note on it:

KRACHER 2017 ZWEIGELT BEERENAUSLESE

SUMMARY: Really fascinating sweet wine that takes characteristics associated with other types of sweet wine and combines them into a multilayered delight to sip that is surprisingly light on its feet given the vinification and high residual sugar.

In the glass, this is a pretty translucent ruby red that is quite transparent, strikingly more so than red icewines from Canada I’ve had. On the nose, red Burgundy like pencil lead aromas dominate along with orange blossom honey. In the mouth, surprisingly light bodied with a bit of spritz from my freshly opened bottle. Very smooth texture. A high lemony acidity hits first on the palate before fruit and sweetness kick in. This is acting more like a Riesling Spatlese than a dessert wine at this point. The 8% ABV probably explains that. Then delicious sweet cranberry, red cherry and purple plum favors kick in. Slightly reminscent of Port if Port were actually a much lighter wine. This is followed by cinnamon and pencil lead flavors. The finish starts to feel a little dense at the end as it lingers on my palate and lets me know this is definitely a botrytised wine. A little Port like, a little Sauternes like and a lot icewine like on that finish.

This is amazing. It’s like a red Burgundy Pinot, German Spatlese, Bordeaux Sauternes and Canadian icewine all rolled up into one. It’s complex yet really light on its feet. I’m actually having a hard time believing it’s stated 177 g/L of RS. I’ve had sweet wines with 75-100 less g/L of RS that tasted far sweeter and less complex than this and that includes some Sauternes and icewines, both of which I dearly love. About the only thing I’d currently rate above this right now is their own Zweigelt TBA which I’ve had and would kill to have again even despite the hefty $100 CDN price tag. This Beerenauslese isn’t anywhere as decadent as that, but it’s also half the price. That’s a pretty fair deal, IMHO, but what’s even better is that I managed to snag 3 bottles on sale for a mere $35 CDN which makes it taste a whole lot better! [wow.gif] If you can find a bottle at a good price, you should grab it.

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