Alois Kracher TBA #1 Nouvelle Vague / 2022 / 375mL

Description:

The Alois Kracher TBA #1 Nouvelle Vague 2022 is a rare red Trockenbeerenauslese from Zweigelt grown in Neusiedlersee-Burgenland, crimson in the glass and intensely sweet without ever feeling heavy. Bottled in 375mL, it is a botrytis wine built for sharing across a table rather than cellaring in magnum quantities.

The nose is deep and still a touch untamed, with fresh red berry fruit and floral lift running through a distinctly saline thread. Behind that sit dried cherry, blood plum and a whisper of rose petal, the botrytis reading as concentration rather than mushroom or marmalade.

On the palate the 2022 Zweigelt Trockenbeerenauslese is thick and glossy, yet the acidity cuts straight down the middle and keeps everything upright. Fine tannins — unusual in a sweet wine, and part of what makes a red TBA so interesting — give a gentle grip through the middle, and the finish is long, savoury and salty at the edges.

Pour it with a dark chocolate tart, a cherry clafoutis, or aged hard cheese where the salt meets the sweetness head on. A half bottle serves six generous 60mL glasses, which is about right for a wine this rich, and it means you can open something exceptional at the end of dinner without committing to a full 750mL.

Drinking beautifully from 2026, and the half bottle format will bring it forward faster than a standard bottle would, so expect it to peak around 2038 rather than sitting on for decades beyond.