2000 TBA #3 Chardonnay Nouvelle Vague

Alois Kracher's re-released 2000 Trockenbeerenauslese No 3 Chardonnay Nouvelle Vague displays a saddle-brown color with a brightening, yellowish and lime-green edge. The bouquet is deep, very intense yet refined and displays saline notes and even slightly flinty nuances intertwined with nougat, dark caramel, licorice and plummy and stone fruit aromas. The wine is enormously rich on the palate yet immaculate in its perfect "100-pointer texture." This is a spell-binding beauty full of finesse and lively salinity that triggers an immediate swallowing reflex. "Oh, linger, you are so beautiful," I hear myself quoting Goethe's Faust II, but again and again this wine defies analysis and seduces shamelessly but perfectly. The long and saline, salivating finish reveals dark chocolate and refreshing lemon flavors and keeps the wine its it weightless, elegant and refined style. 12.5% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in Illmitz in June 2025.

Butterscotch, cream, and peaches are found in the nose of the syrupy 2000 #7 Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague (7.5% alcohol, 295.9 grams residual sugar/liter, and 6.5 grams/liter total acidity). This creamy textured wine’s mouth-feel is as soft as a goose down pillow. Its thick, full-bodied character has flavors reminiscent of butterscotch squares whipped into condensed milk. Drink it over the next 15-20 years. This effort, because of its monstrous levels of residual sugar and low alcohol, is a dessert more than a wine ... yet is immensely impressive! Importer: Vin Divino, Chicago, IL; tel. (773) 334-6700

Butterscotch, orange-flavored candies, and intense apricot aromas are found in the nose of the 2000 #3 Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague. An oily-textured, medium to full-bodied effort, it has stupendous amplitude, excellent balance, and reveals loads of spicy, sweet yellow plum flavors. This bold, broad-shouldered, expressive wine (12.5% alcohol, 178.2 grams residual sugar/liter, and 6 grams/liter total acidity) should be consumed over the next 20 years. Wine Advocate.October, 2003