2001 Kracher Zwischen Den Seen Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese #8

Kracher...ah, yes Kracher...some of the best dessert wines made come from this producer in Austria. This half bottle runs for, I kid you not, $80. If you live near Chicago, Binny's frequently 'end of bin' sales these so you can get them for far less if you time it right.

Potent dried fruit - apricot, mango, vanilla, plus some heat on the nose.

There are complex wines where you can rattle off a hundred things and there are complex wines where it's difficult to pull out even one. I'm going to start with peaches - not fresh though, the juice from canned peaches is what hits the palate first. Make some caramel and add a bit of vanilla and throw it in the mix as well as some golden raisins and dried apricot and perhaps a dash of honey. The mouthfeel is comparable to olive oil - thick and viscous. The wine is incredibly sweet, but it somehow manages to not be cloying - there doesn't seem to be much acid but it clearly works it all out. There is more...

A lengthy finish - a dried mango quality comes through, candied orange zest, and sugarfied peach last for minutes.

Dessert wine is tricky to even think about scoring, but this is just outstanding. It's complex, tasty, and balanced. Outrageously priced? Yes. Worth it? Perhaps. Kracher is known as being one of the best dessert wine producers on the planet, this wine proves it.

Score: 96