Early in September-2007 there was an interesting tasting in Oslo with sweet wines from the Burgenland. Mostly there were wines from
Heidi Schröck and Kracher as these two producers were present at the tasting. Firstly they told a little about production of sweet wines
around the Neusiedlersee. Kracher is placed on the east side of this lake where wines naturally gets a lot of botrytis. The region has
a history of poverty and most of the inhabitants made and drank their own wines. Heidi Schröck is placed in Rust, on the west side of
Neusiedlersee. Rust is a village of quite some fame when it comes to wine-making. It's wines was already mentioned as early as 1526 and
the town exported much wine in barrel under the town-seal. Heidi Schröck comes from a family that always have made wine as a part of the
farming. They made a stylistic change in 1999 to more elegant wines focusing more on the balance. Grapes from darker soil with gravel
gives more minerality to wines. These are blended with grapes from more sandy soil which gives grapes with better acidity.
Prestige beerenauslese 2005, Lenz Moser, Neusiedlersee
We started off with some wines from other producers. This had a lightly golden colour. The nose was a bit sugary with hints of
apricot, botrytis and some wood. Fullbodied and sweet in the mouth. Simple fruit. Apricot and botrytis. But this has a crisp acidity
and balance. 135 g/L residual sugar, 8,4 g/L acidity.
Beerenauslese 2006, Zantho, Neusiedlersee
More flowery and balsamic nose here. Finer. Fatter style in the mouth. Shows some younger fruit, perhaps more sugary. Round style.
But also quite fine acidity and balance. Good length. Fine wine for the price. 80/20 welschriesling/scheurebe.
Cuvee beerenauslese 2006, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Lightly golden colour. Flowery, balsamic nose. Some spice and peach. Round win in the mouth with a slight fat. Again a quite
balsamic mouthfeel. The fruit shows some more depth here with a fine spicyness. Good acidity and some dry extract in the finish.
Perhaps a slight bitterness. Good standard-cuvee. 50/50 chardonnay/welschriesling.
Zweigelt beerenauslese 2005, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Light pink-red colour. Fine nose. Quite complex. Hints of red berries, flowers, light oak. Elegant and crisp style in the mouth. Lots
of red berries in the young fruit. Fine acidity and some tannins in the back. Young wine which I like very much.
Beerenauslese 2006, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
A little shy nose. Some hints of flowers, wool, citrus. Closed in the mouth. Some fat. Sweet fruit. Shows some flowers, also some
minerality. Round style with ok acidity and length. Must try again some other time. Not a good day for this. Blend of welschriesling
and weissburgunder.
Prestige trockenbeerenauslese 2004, Lenz Moser, Neusiedlersee
Deeped, more golden colour. The nose shows more burnt sugar, wood, botrytis, oak and also sulphure. Fatter and richer wine in the
mouth with more obvious botrytis. The fruit is again very simple. The acidity is again also quite crisp and the wine has a long taste.
Fair wine, but highly forgettable.
So we started off with these five standard-cuvees. The best of the lot was clearly Kracher's wines and I really liked the zweigelt.
Heidi Schröck's BA did not show much this day. Zantho is a cheap BA and very good for the price. Then we went on to taste three wines
from Heidi Schröck.
Ruster Ausbruch on the wings of dawn 2005, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Golden colour. The fine nose shows honey, orange, botrytis. Fullbodied and sweet wine in the mouth, yet fine and elegant style.
Serious wine here with a fine depth and some minerality showing. Good acidity and balance. Fine length. Great wine and my favourite
of these three. Made from welschriesling, weissburgunder, grauburgunder, gelber muskateller. 11,5% alcohol. 200 g/L residual sugar,
7,5 g/L acidity.
Ruster Ausbruch 2004, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Golden colour. The nose shows some more botrytis, honey, slight hints of tea-leafs. A little fatter in the mouth. The fruit shows
more pronounced botrytis and a hint of caramel. Acidity is a little lower. Good, but not up to the more elegant 2005.
Ruster Ausbruch 2003, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Golden colour. Flowery nose. Hints of honey, light wool. Sweet wine in the mouth, but no fatness. Cleaner, fruitier with a more crisp
mouthfeel. But also less complex. Very different style here. Fruit shwos a lot of ripeness. Acidity is lower. Medium length. Fine
wine, but different and not up to the two other wines. The explanation here is that there is no botrytis in this wine. The year gave
very little botrytis, but ripe fruit of high oechsle. So Heidi Schröck desided to make this without botrytis.
These three shows how different this wine can be in different vintages. To me there was no doubt the 2005 was the finest wine with
it's beautiful balance and depth. Then on to four wines from Kracher.
Scheurebe trockenbeerenauslese No.6 Zwischen den Seen 2002, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Golden colour. Fruity and a bit tropical nose. Fine botrytis. Fresh and fruity style in the mouth. Hints of grapefruit. Some
currant. Quite complex. Some botrytis, well integrated. Fresh and acidic mouthfeel and long taste. Great wine. 220 g/L residual
sugar, 8,3 g/L acid.
Grand cuvee trockenbeerenauslese No.6 Novelle Vague 2004, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Golden colour. More spicy nose with hints of tea-leafs, oak and milk-chocolate. Quite round and balsamic style in the mouth with
more fat upfront. Fruit shows some tea-leafs and spice. More noticable botrytis and more oak. Still there is a balance. Fine.
60/40 chardonnay/welschriesling. 200 g/L residual sugar, 7,2 g/L acid.
Welschriesling trockenbeerenauslese No.6 Zwischen den Seen 1998, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Amber colour. Nose shows tea-leafs, botrytis, caramel, some orange-spice. In the mouth this is a fatter style with lots of
botrytis. A little creamy style with lower acidity and length. The fruit more rustic. Not my favourite. 200 g/L residual sugar,
6,4 g/L acid.
Welschriesling trockenbeerenauslese No.8 Zwischen den Seen 2001, Kracher, Neusiedlersee
Amber colour, slightly lighter than the 98. The nose is honeyed with more fruity notes. Hints of melon and a light spicyness.
Intense wine in the mouth. Fat and still a bit sugary. Balsamic fruit. Spicy and with fine depth. Intense and concentrated style.
Fine acidity, well-balancing and long taste. Great wine. 300 g/L residual sugar.
These four showed quite a difference in style. My favourite was the last wine with an honorable mention to the scheurebe with it's
intense fruity style.
Ruster Ausbruch Turner 2004, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Golden colour. Mineral, smokey nose with hints of orange-spice and honey. Fine botrytis. Crisp wine in the mouth. Noble botrytis
and fine fruit with lots of depth. Smokey, mineral and with a fine hints of orange, citrus and spice. Long acidic taste. Tremendous
wine and my wine of the day. 100% furmint.
Ruster Ausbruch Elysium 1999, Heidi Schröck, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
Amber colour. Nose shows ripe fruits, some orange, spice, tea-leafs and botrytis. Fat and sweet wine in the mouth. More
concentration here. Young fruit, not evolved at all. Lots of botrytis. Still quite balsamic and round taste. Acidity a little low
in the balance. Long taste. Great wine that will need a lot of time.
The two last wines showed that Heidi Schröck has some great terroir to work with and makes sweet wines with an incredible depth.
The wines from Kracher are full, intense and very well-made. But they are somewhat more monolithic than those from Heidi Schröck. One
thing that stroke me was the beautiful balance and elegance found in all wines from Kracher and Heidi Schröck. No doubt a thiing due
to their lowness in alcohol. My four best wines this day was:
1.Ruster Ausbruch Turner 2004, Heidi Schröck
2.Ruster Ausbruch 2005, Heidi Schröck
3.Welschriesling trockenbeerenauslese No.8 Zwischen den Seen 2001, Kracher
4.Ruster Ausbruch Elysium 1999, Heidi Schröck
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting notes: Sep-07