2004 Alois Kracher Cuvee Beerenauslese, 375ml

Alois Kracher is in Illmitz, Austria, in the eastern lake region along the border of Hungary. Alois Kracher, who trained as a chemist, took over the 50-acre estate in 1981. It had been founded decades earlier by his father. Alois died at age 49 in 2007 from cancer. But until his death he was considered Austria’s premier winemaker and the European wine industry’s unofficial ambassador of sweet white wines. Kracher’s wines based on Chardonnay, Welschriesling, Scheurebe, Traminer and Muskat-Ottonel grapes are all made in the sweet “trockenbeerenauslee” style. Today the estate is run by Alois’ son Gerhard. As a side note, Kracher was a close friend and business partner of Manfred Krankl, the widely-admired, Austrian-born winemaker behind the Sine Qua Non wines from California’s Central Coast. Kracher and Krankl produced highly-regarded wines under the label Mr. K.