Alois Kracher TBA Noble Cuvee / MV / 187mL

Description:

The Alois Kracher TBA Noble Cuvee is a multi-vintage Trockenbeerenauslese from Neusiedlersee-Burgenland, made from botrytis-affected grapes and bottled here in a 187mL quarter bottle. Rich and golden, it carries the concentration you expect from Austrian noble sweet wine without turning heavy or cloying.

Apricot jam, dried mango and orange marmalade lead the aromatics, backed by beeswax, ginger and the faint saffron lift that noble rot brings. The palate is thick and slow-moving, with honeyed stone fruit, candied citrus peel and a touch of caramelised nut.

Sweetness is the first impression, but acidity does the real work in this Kracher, cutting a clean line through the viscosity and keeping the finish long and bright rather than syrupy. A small format like this one matures faster than a full bottle, so a quarter bottle of Neusiedlersee TBA tends to show its developed marmalade and toffee side a little earlier.

The 187mL size makes it a genuinely practical pour: two generous glasses, no leftovers, no guilt about opening something serious on a Tuesday. Serve it well chilled with blue cheese, a wedge of tarte Tatin, crème brûlée, or simply on its own after dinner in place of dessert.

Drink now and over the next decade, though multi-vintage Kracher TBA in this format is best enjoyed on the earlier side of that range while the fruit is still vivid.