Summary
Weinlaubenhof Kracher in Illmitz is probably Austria’s most famous sweet wine estate – and one of the best known in the world. The family’s vineyards lie between the village and the shore of Lake Neusiedl, and since the 1990s their nobly sweet Trockenbeerenauslesen have been mentioned in the same breath as the great dessert wines of Sauternes or Tokaj. Alois Kracher Sr. recognised the potential of noble rot in the Seewinkel early on, his son Alois Jr. made the estate world-famous with the 1991 vintage, and since 2007 grandson Gerhard Kracher has run the business with a new vision. Its trademarks are the two styles ‘Zwischen den Seen’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’ and the numbered Trockenbeerenauslesen.
History
The story of the Weinlaubenhof is the story of three generations. Alois Kracher Sr. (1928–2010) was among the first growers in the Seewinkel to understand what the humid autumn climate on Lake Neusiedl makes possible: he produced high-quality sweet wines from botrytised grapes while most of his neighbours were still chasing volume, laying the foundation for the estate’s reputation.
His son Alois Kracher Jr. (1959–2007), a chemist by training, joined the business in 1981 at the age of 22 and devoted himself entirely to wine from the mid-1980s. He developed a new style of sweet wine that relied not on sheer sweetness but on fruit, finesse and balance. The 1991 vintage brought the international breakthrough – in the same year he introduced the two lines ‘Zwischen den Seen’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’. Alois Jr. is still regarded as the spearhead of the Austrian wine miracle after the 1985 scandal, and he was a visionary far beyond the sweet wine scene: with Manfred Krankl (Sine Qua Non) he founded the Mr. K dessert wine project in California and worked with importer Jorge Ordóñez on Muscat wines in Málaga. He died in December 2007 at just 48.
Gerhard Kracher (born 1981) had gradually taken on responsibility from 2001 and has run the estate since 2007 together with his mother Michaela. He carries on the legacy, relies more on natural methods in the vineyard and has expanded the business with tastings, seminars and a guesthouse. He also inherited the appetite for projects – for instance a joint ice wine venture with the Romanian estate Liliac in Transylvania.
Location & Terroir
The Seewinkel is flat, wide and unlike any other wine landscape in Austria. The Weinlaubenhof’s vineyards lie between Illmitz and the shore of Lake Neusiedl, the largest steppe lake in Central Europe. The lake is little more than a metre deep, warms up strongly in summer and, together with the numerous salt ponds of the area, releases a great deal of moisture into the air in autumn. The result is dense morning fog that the Pannonian sun dissolves again in the afternoon.
It is precisely this rhythm of humidity and warmth that holds the key: year after year it favours noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), which shrivels the berries and concentrates sugar, acidity and aromas – a stroke of luck that occurs in Sauternes only in good vintages but in the Seewinkel almost regularly. The light, sandy soils of the Seewinkel and the high planting density of the Kracher vineyards add small-berried, aromatic grapes. Harvesting is done by hand in several passes, berry by berry.
Style & Philosophy
Alois Kracher Jr. rethought sweet wine: instead of heavy, oxidative dessert wines he wanted wines with freshness, clear fruit and drinkability – despite enormous concentration. This signature still defines the house today. Two styles, both dating from 1991, form the backbone of the range:
- Zwischen den Seen: the classic, reductive style. The wines are aged in stainless steel or large oak casks and show the grape variety in its purest form – radiant, fruit-driven, with fine acidity. Typical for Welschriesling, Scheurebe or Muskat-Ottonel.
- Nouvelle Vague: the ‘new wave’. Fermentation and ageing in new French barriques lend depth, spice and creaminess. Typical for Chardonnay, Traminer, the Grande Cuvée or the occasional Zweigelt.
The numbered Trockenbeerenauslesen
The real trademark is the numbering. Each vintage Kracher usually produces ten to fifteen different Trockenbeerenauslesen from different grape varieties and styles. They are numbered in ascending order of concentration: number 1 is the lightest, the highest number the densest, sweetest TBA of the year. Each vintage thus becomes a ‘collection’ that builds bottle by bottle – and which collectors all over the world try to acquire in full.
Notable Sites & Wines
Kracher thinks not in single vineyards but in grape varieties, styles and numbers. The range includes:
- Trockenbeerenauslese Grande Cuvée ‘Nouvelle Vague’ – the blend of Chardonnay and Welschriesling, often the star of the vintage
- Trockenbeerenauslese Welschriesling ‘Zwischen den Seen’ – the classic Seewinkel sweet wine: clear, juicy, with citrus-fresh acidity
- Trockenbeerenauslese Scheurebe ‘Zwischen den Seen’ – exotic and aromatic, with notes of cassis and grapefruit
- Trockenbeerenauslesen from Chardonnay, Traminer, Muskat-Ottonel, Rosenmuskateller and occasionally Zweigelt in both styles
- Beerenauslese Cuvée – the most widely drunk Kracher, predominantly Welschriesling and Chardonnay; the ideal entry point
- Auslesen, ice wine and small quantities of dry white and red wines
The Trockenbeerenauslesen come in 375 ml bottles and mature for decades; the high numbers in particular are considered wines for generations.
Awards
Hardly any sweet wine estate has been honoured so often. Alois Kracher Jr. was voted Winemaker of the Year several times by a leading British wine magazine, and the International Wine Challenge in London repeatedly named the house Sweet Winemaker of the Year – including in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2008 and 2009, the last time already under Gerhard Kracher. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated numerous Trockenbeerenauslesen at 98 points and above; the 2004 Mr. K The Strawman, a straw wine from Sémillon made in the Californian joint project with Manfred Krankl, received a full 100 points. Recent vintages under Gerhard Kracher also regularly achieve scores of 96 points and more from international critics – the Weinlaubenhof remains a fixture on every list of the world’s best sweet wines.
