Hors Bordeaux tasting notes: Sweet wines
As La Place de Bordeaux’s September campaign gets underway, db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay gives his verdict on the sweet wines in the autumn campaign.
A note on the tasting notes:
As regular readers will know, I am the Bordeaux and La Place de Bordeaux correspondent of The Drinks Business. My specialism is Bordeaux, in particular, and northern Europe (especially Piedmont and Tuscany), secondarily. This should perhaps be born in mind when it comes to my tasting notes for other regions with which I am less familiar and which I encounter primarily through la place. My notes, as ever, are those of an enthusiast and a wine-lover and, for these regions above all, they are best read as such. All of the following wines were tasted either in Bordeaux at the offices of the courtiers or négociants bringing these wines to the international market, at trade tastings in London, at the property itself, or in Paris, from samples sent directly from the property – and, in many cases, multiple times.
Austria
| Austrian releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Kracher TBA No. 1 Zweigelt | 2022 | Burgenland | No | 95 |
| Kracher TBA No. 2 Welschriesling | 2022 | Burgenland | No | 95+ |
| Kracher TBA No. 3 Grande Cuvée | 2022 | Burgenland | No | 98 |
| Kracher TBA No. 4 Scheurebe | 2022 | Burgenland | No | 97+ |
| Kracher TBA No. 5 Rosenmuskateller | 2022 | Burgenland | No | 95 |
Kracher Kollektion Trockenbeerenauslese Zweigelt Cuvée No. 1 2022 (Burgenland; 100% Zweigelt; 173.4g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 7.1 g/l; aged for 24 months in oak barrels; 10% alcohol). Peach and pear belle Helene. Already quite a lot of sugar. A hint of raspberry too and, strangely perhaps, childhood memories of Ribena. Relatively simple as these wines go, though with that characteristic Kracher purity and freshness. When re-tasted it’s the raspberry and, again, the cassis cordial that one really hones in on. Saline as ever with a lovely and distinct minerality, here just a little oyster shell but also a subtle hint of salted roasted macademia nuts. With aeration the acidity seems to mount and it reins in the sugar. I think this will age very well, but at the moment it hasn’t fully come together. 95.
Kracher Kollektion Trockenbeerenauslese Cuvée Welschriesling No. 2 2022 (Burgenland; 100% Welschriesling; 176.9 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 5.9 g/l; 10.5% alcohol; aged for 26 months in stainless steel). Apple. Pure and simple. Granny Smith. But with a red apple skin too. A little white pear. Peanut brittle and salt. Pure, simple – a little like the cuvée no. 1 – but with more obvious potential (though both will age very gracefully and gain in complexity). There’s a fascinating hint of greenery here – part floral, part herbal, part almost grassy – and it breathes freshness into this in a most beguiling way. Fresh ginger too. I love that very Kracher peanut brittle note. Gorgeous, though once again at this stage the residual sugar slightly triumphs on the palate over the acidity (less of an issue, ironically, with the higher number – i.e.: higher residual sugar – cuvées). 95+.
Kracher Kollektion Grande Cuvée Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague No. 3 2022 (Burgenland; 60% Chardonnay; 40% Welschriesling; 181.7 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 6.2 g/l; 10% alcohol; aged for 28 months in smaller oak for the Chardonnay, larger oak for the Welschriesling; tasted first at the Joanne press tasting and then at the offices of Kracher’s Bordeaux courtier). The saline minerality immediately evident aromatically. This is more complex that the other cuvées and more evidently a wine of assemblage. That glorious slightly grilled, slightly charred pineapple note. Lime zest. Salted peanut brittle, again. Wild field honey. Pear. Peach belle Helene. Confit and fresh ginger. Toffee apple. Lanolin. On the palate this is not quite as viscous as it sometimes is, but that somehow gives more space for the fresh fruits to present themselves. It’s a little like the most wonderful fruit cocktail in a rich slightly burnt caramel syrup – one encounters the fresh and acidic fruits from a sea of richer, fuller and sweeter notes. Fresh pineapple with aeration in the mouth, and a little sesame seed. Great tension, as that implies, an impressive amplitude too and a kind of calm tranquillity despite the profound sense of energy and vibrancy. A little hint of coconut on the finish and ginger ale in the empty glass. 98.
Kracher Kollektion Trockenbeerenauslese Cuvée Scheurebe No. 4 2022 (Burgenland; 100% Scheurebe; 212.6 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 6.7 g/l; 9% alcohol; aged for 24 months in stainless steel). Honeycomb. Apricot and apricot compote. And something more essential, like a parfumier’s extract of apricot kernel. Rhubarb tarte tatin! Wonderfully sapid and juicy, despite the considerable sweetness here. It comes across searingly fresh which is, as ever, incredible given the level of residual sugar present. Another magical wine. 97+.
Partner Content
Kracher Kollektion Trockenbeerenauslese Cuvée Rosenmuskateller No. 5 2022 (Burgenland; 100% Rosenmuskateller; 261.0 g/l of residual sugar; total acidity of 8.6 g/l; 8% alcohol; aged for 24 months in oak barrels). Not unlike no. 1 but with almost twice as much residual sugar. Raspberry puree. Almost too much. There is a load of acidity here – glory be – but it’s still almost at the limit. Rhubarb crumble. 95.
South Africa
| South African releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Klein Constantia Vin de Constance | 2022 | Coastal Region | No | 98 |
Vin de Constance 2022 (Constantia; 100% Muscat de Frontignan; 168.6 g/L of residual sugar; pH 3.81; 13.6% alcohol). Wild floral honey. Confit melon. Lanolin. 50 shades of citrus. A little peach and peach kernel. Fresh, racy, lithe and engaging with just enough acidity to keep this fresh. Burnt sugar and butterscotch. Long and sustained on the finish which achieves an exquisite balance of sweetness and bitterness. 98.
Hungary
| Hungarian releases | Vintage | Region | 1st release? | Rating |
| Pajzos Tokaj Esszencia | 2021 | Tokaj | No | 96 |
Pajzos Tokaj Esszencia 2021 (Tokay Esszencia; 63% Zeta; 37% Furmint; 8.9 g/l of total acidity; 439 g/l of residual sugar; 3% alcohol). Only the 9th vintage of this wine ever to be produced since the estate was privatised in 1991. Apple and peach. Seville orange marmalade. Burnt sugar. This is genuinely gloopy in its viscosity. The salinity cuts the sugar, thankfully. Subtle, more so than you would imagine. Raspberry compote too. Incredibly long. 96.
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