Home > Producer Profiles > Austrian Profiles > Alois Kracher

Alois Kracher

Regarded by many as the nation's greatest winemaker, the late Alois Kracher was a name to be reckoned with on the Austrian wine scene. Alois was in fact the linchpin of three generations looking after the family estate, which lies adjacent to Lake Neusiedl, on the Austrian-Hungarian border. There is Alois Kracher Sr (on the right, below), the original Alois (centre), who tended the vineyards until his death at just 48 years of age, and there is a new generation coming online, with the young Gerhard (left) joining the team. With the passing of Alois in 2007, taken prematurely by pancreatic cancer, it is Gerhard that remains in control.

Alois Kracher Around Lake Neusiedl there are alomst unique conditions which foster the development of botrytis. Early morning mists roll off the lake, over the dense reed beds and pools that pepper its margins around Seewinkel, where the Kracher family are based. This freshwater lake fog brings the humidity necessary for the fungal spores of Botrytis cinerea to germinate, whilst the sun, later in the day, dries the fruit, this preventing the development of unwanted grey rot. Hence, the scene is set for the production of some of the world's finest and most highly acclaimed sweet wines. The Kracher vineyards run around the lake, largely on gravelly soils, although with some sandy components. Welschriesling is the variety that predominates, accounting for half of the vineyard area planted up, with large plantings of Chardonnay, Scheurebe and Traminer (often used as a synonym for Gewurztraminer). There are red varieties too, as the Kracher family do also make some dry red table wines, from the local Zweigelt, and also dry whites, from Pinot Gris. But it is the complex array of sweet cuvées that is the real attention grabber here.

The sweet wines can be broadly divided into three groups, as follows:

Traditional: sweet styles ranging from auslese to eiswein.
Zwischen den Seen (ZdS): meaning 'between the lakes', these wines originate from the land between Neusiedl and the smaller lakes in Seewinkel.
Nouvelle Vague (NV): Kracher's unique selling point; fabulously sweet new-wave varietals and blends.

The traditional styles bear the defined categories of auslese and beerenauslese, as well as eiswein. They are largely made from white varieties, but may also include red; in 2002 the range included a Zweigelt Beerenauslese Rosé, as well as a Zweigelt Eiswein. The latter two groups, however, make up the annual collection of numbered cuvées for which Kracher is most renowned, and all are at the trockenbeerenauslese level. These wines, which form an annual collection, reflect the successes of the vintage and thus change from year to year. They are numbered roughly according to residual sugar; in the 2002 vintage, the range started with Nouvelle Vague #1, a Zweigelt cuvée, weighing in at 147.5 g/l, and culminated in Zwischen den Seen #12, a 50/50 blend of botrytised Welschriesling and Scheurebe simply entitles 'Noble Wine', which carried a heady 402.8 g/l of residual sugar (and just 4% ABV)!

I tasted a small sample of Kracher's wines in 2005. As I would have expected, these were all stunning wines. The wines of Kracher are, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the world's greatest. Provided one can stomach the prices, which reflect the quality within the bottle, these are valuable additions to the cellar of any sweet wine drinker. (24/1/06, updated 24/6/08)

Contact details:
Address: Weinlaubenhof Kracher KG, Apetlonerstrasse 37, A-7142 Illmitz, Burgenland
Telephone: +43 (0) 2175 3377
Fax: +43 (0) 2175 33774
Internet: www.kracher.net

Alois Kracher - Tasting Notes

Click to locate stockists.

2002

Alois Kracher Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese #2 'NV' 2002: Residual sugar 205.8 g/l, acidity 7.0 g/l, ABV 10.5%. Lots of honeyed botrytis to be found on the nose here, with notes of chopped, sweet tropical fruit. On the palate it is rich yet bright and vivacious, weighty with residual sugar, but supple and beautifully textured, and dripping with the tropical fruit character found on the nose. Firm acidity again. This is excellent. 18/20 (May 2005)

Alois Kracher Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese #5 'ZdS' 2002: Residual sugar 214.7 g/l, acidity 8.4 g/l, ABV 10.0%. This is rather fresher on the nose, brighter, with more crisply evident fruit, tropical in character, with lychee notes quite prominent. Creamy, peachy, rounded style on the palate, with lots of texture from the residual sugar. Caramelised notes too. Strong acidity. This has a great finish. 18/20 (May 2005)

Alois Kracher Grande Cuvée Trockenbeerenauslese #7 'NV' 2002: Residual sugar 252.7 g/l, acidity 6.9 g/l, ABV 9.0%. Chardonnay 50%, Welschriesling 50%. A very rich nose here, heavy with botrytis, with quince, honey and apricot aromas leading the way. Full and creamy on the palate; this is a wine with massive texture. Great flavour too, lots of botrytis complexity, but with fresh, piercing acidity again. Brilliant wine. 18.5/20 (May 2005)

Alois Kracher Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese #8 'ZdS' 2002: Residual sugar 268.5 g/l, acidity 6.7 g/l, ABV 8.5%. Again, a very tropical profile on the nose, but with a more perfumed style. Lovely balance on the palate which is rich and weighty, but with more of the trademark fresh acidity. Rather honeyed, full and creamy. Good length. 17.5/20 (May 2005)

2001

Alois Kracher Cuvée Eiswein 2001: Residual sugar 104.6 g/l, acidity 4.9 g/l, ABV 12.5%. Chardonnay 50%, Welschriesling 50%. A glorious nose here, redolent of honey and crystalline fruits. Beautiful texture on the palate, quite grippy and savoury, with firm, powerful acidity. There's a caramelised, char grilled meat character too. Very good indeed. Approachable now, but will be better with some time in bottle. 18/20 (May 2005)