2008 Alois Kracher Chardonnay TBA #4 Nouvelle Vague

The amber-colored 2008 Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslese No 12 Nouvelle Vague displays a clear, highly intense and concentrated fruit with spicy and toasty oak and Cognac flavors; these flavors are intertwined with aromas of stewed apricots and peaches, dark caramel, shiitake, malt and dates. Highly concentrated and viscous on the palate, this is a salty flavored and refreshing TBA with pineapple and crème brûlée flavors. Although this is an extremely rich and sweet Chardonnay (with 371 grams per liter of unconverted sugar and rather mild 8.2 grams per liter of total acidity), it is very elegant and nobly textured; it reveals brown sugar candy and lapsang souchong flavors, followed by a delicate yet lingering freshness with orange and black bread flavors. This is a big wine made for decades, rich, creamy and oily, but very elegant and surely made for itself.