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Kracher, Noble Reserve Trockenbeerenauslese (NV)
White (noble-rot dessert)AustriaNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2020-01-12 · Published 2026-09-17 · Updated 2026-09-17
At a glance
In one line
4.0/5 — lower than Vivino's 4.2 average · world avg price US$53 · An entry-level cuvée from the house that made Alois Kracher's name internationally, built on the noble rot (botrytis) that forms in the fog off Lake Neusiedl in Austria's Burgenland.
Three critic scores on Vivino — 92 (Apr 2016), 90 (Jan 2018) x2. Kracher's own online shop separately cites Falstaff 90 and Wine Enthusiast 95 (year not specified on that listing).
Market note: Kracher's own online shop (shop.kracher.at) prices the 375ml bottle at €24 (checked Sept 2026). Kracher's higher numbered cuvées (No. 7, No. 10, etc. of Beerenauslese/Trockenbeerenauslese) sell for US$100-110+ per 375ml on wine.com (checked Sept 2026), positioning Noble Reserve as a far more accessible entry point into the range.
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“Brown color. Cedar, oak, honey, pear, apple, lemon,gasoline. 다른 베렌아우스레제 에서 느낄 수 없는 소테른의 귀부와인처럼 삼나무, 오크향, 타닌이 느껴짐. 하지만 베렌아우스레제 처럼 엄청난 과일향과 맛은 여전함. 트로켄 처음인데 아이스와인에 가까움을 느낌. 개인적으로는 그냥 베렌아우스레제의 가벼운 디저트 느낌이 아직은 좋다.”
Show original
“Brown color. Cedar, oak, honey, pear, apple, lemon,gasoline. 다른 베렌아우스레제 에서 느낄 수 없는 소테른의 귀부와인처럼 삼나무, 오크향, 타닌이 느껴짐. 하지만 베렌아우스레제 처럼 엄청난 과일향과 맛은 여전함. 트로켄 처음인데 아이스와인에 가까움을 느낌. 개인적으로는 그냥 베렌아우스레제의 가벼운 디져트 느낌이 아직은 좋다.”
What I learned today: a dessert wine should be a little sweeter than the dessert.
This morning I stopped by Mom's bakery. From the end of the display I picked a small pound cake that smelled of butter. Mom only asked, "Taking it to the bar?" and slipped it into a paper bag.
An hour before closing, the guests all gone. Master Seo lit a candle and set out two small glasses. What came out of the bottle was a deep amber. Honey, pear, apple, lemon, and wood. I cut a slice of cake and brought the glass to my nose.
The drawer opens slowly. January when I was twenty-one. The table cleared after dinner. Father sets a very small glass beside the fruit plate. It was brown, so I thought it was tea. One sip and my whole mouth was sweet, yet the end was sour. Father laughed, watching my face. The bottle's name, I didn't know even that night.
The line I found in the notebook was surprisingly frank: "Personally, I still prefer the light dessert feel of a beerenauslese." This bottle was richer and heavier, and still Father liked the lighter one better.
Mom's cake was gone in no time. What I learned today: a dessert wine should be a little sweeter than the dessert.
What this wine is
Alois Kracher Jr. (1959-2007) started out as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. He began winemaking part-time on his father's vineyard in 1981 — his father, Alois Kracher Sr. (born 1929), ran the vines while Alois Jr. handled the cellar — before going full-time in 1986. Over the following two decades he turned a small Burgenland house into a globally recognized noble-rot dessert wine producer, winning Wine Journal's "Winemaker of the Year" six times, and in 2004 his "Mr. K The Strawman" received a perfect 100 points from Robert Parker. He died on 5 December 2007, at 48, from pancreatic cancer.
Kracher's vineyards sit between the town of Illmitz and the shore of Lake Neusiedl. The lake is so shallow that autumn fog lingers there until noon, creating ideal conditions for Botrytis cinerea (noble rot) to develop on the grapes. The estate farms 58 hectares split across 92 scattered plots — a demanding structure, but one that draws on a wide range of ancient lakebed soils. Kracher divides its range into two main lines: "Zwischen den Seen" ("between the lakes"), aged in stainless steel to let the fruit speak for itself, and "Nouvelle Vague," aged in new oak barriques for added richness. Noble Reserve sits well below those numbered cuvées as the accessible entry point, blending several grape varieties and vintages.
After Alois Jr.'s death in 2007, his son Gerhard Kracher, born in 1981, took over the house and continues to run it today.
What the world says
This wine has been rated by 1,339 people on Vivino, averaging 4.2. Two critic scores are listed — 92 (Apr 2016) and 90 (Jan 2018) — and Kracher's own online shop separately cites Falstaff 90 and Wine Enthusiast 95.
The flavor keywords lead with stone fruit — apricot, peach — at 104 mentions, followed by honey and minerals (71) and tropical fruit like mango and pineapple (52). Structure: sweetness 4.9/5 and acidity an equally extreme 4.9 — the most intense numbers of any dessert wine this magazine has covered, with sugar and acid locked in a tug of war.
"Candied orange peel, honey and botrytis spice, with restrained dried fruit rather than huge opulence. The palate is juicy, creamy and harmonious, carrying a sweet core with lively acidity and a medium-length finish that stays fresh and slightly honeyed." — Vivino review, Jul 2026, 4.2 stars
"Intense golden yellow color. Rich scent of ripe yellow fruit, honey and flowers. Great character, very nice acidity, good concentration and length." — Vivino review, Jun 2017, 4.5 stars
This magazine has also covered two Sauternes greats — Château d'Yquem 2008 (Parker 96, Vivino 4.7, my score 4) and Château Rieussec 2010 (my score 4.5) — plus another Beerenauslese, Leonard Kreusch 2014 (my score 4.5, twice). This Kracher belongs to the same noble-rot category as those Sauternes but pushes both acidity and sweetness to a more extreme 4.9.
How I drank it
12 January 2020, 4 stars. "Brown color. Cedar, oak, honey, pear, apple, lemon, gasoline. Unlike anything I could taste in other Beerenauslese, this had the cedar, oak and tannin of a Sauternes noble-rot wine. But the huge fruit aroma and flavor of a Beerenauslese was still there. My first Trocken, and it felt close to an ice wine. Personally, I still prefer the lighter dessert feel of a regular Beerenauslese." That same day I also logged Torre Raone San Zopito (4 stars).
The note draws three clear distinctions: the difference between Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) — TBA feeling more concentrated, closer to an ice wine; the resemblance between TBA and Sauternes noble-rot wines (cedar, oak, tannin); and a personal preference that still leans toward the lighter BA style. The Vivino structure data shows sweetness and acidity both at an extreme 4.9, which lines up exactly with the note's "huge fruit aroma and flavor." My score, slightly below the community average of 4.2, reads less as a critique of quality than of preference — the word "still" suggests I was withholding final judgment on this new category rather than rejecting it.
Where this wine shows up
From Sauternes botrytis wines to a Canadian icewine and a Hungarian Tokaji, six dessert wines noted on this magazine compared by my score, Vivino average and Wine-Searcher world average — plus a plain look at what makes botrytis wine, icewine and Moscato sweet in different ways.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (1339 ratings, average 4.2)
| 5★ | 132 (10%) | |
| 4★ | 1023 (76%) | |
| 3★ | 168 (13%) | |
| 2★ | 12 (1%) | |
| 1★ | 4 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Stone fruit | 104 | apricot 43 · peach 24 · apple 14 · pear 9 · melon 3 |
| Earth & honey | 71 | honey 56 · stone 5 · wax 3 · minerals 2 · earthy 1 |
| Tropical fruit | 52 | mango 14 · tropical 13 · pineapple 12 · passion fruit 7 · lychee 3 |
| Dried fruit | 43 | raisin 24 · dried apricot 7 · dried fruit 6 · fig 4 · golden raisin 1 |
| Citrus | 27 | orange 12 · lemon 6 · marmalade 3 · citrus 2 · orange zest 2 |
| Oak | 18 | caramel 6 · vanilla 6 · coconut 2 · toffee 2 · butter 1 |
| Yeast & cream | 13 | cheese 7 · cream 5 · banana 1 |
Structure: Acidity 4.9/5 · Intensity 4.0/5 · Sweetness 4.9/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 1339 ratings, average 4.2)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4.2 | 61 |
Other wines Father scored 4.0 →
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StorySix dessert wines compared — from d'Yquem to Tokaji
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of wine is Kracher Noble Reserve Trockenbeerenauslese?
A non-vintage noble-rot dessert wine from Kracher in Illmitz, Burgenland, Austria, blending Chardonnay, Traminer and Welschriesling. Vivino: 1,339 ratings averaging 4.2, with critic scores of 92 and 90. Both sweetness and acidity sit at a very high 4.9/5.
How much does it cost?
The world average price is US$53 per 750ml ex-tax (Wine-Searcher, Sept 2026) (Wine-Searcher, pending). Kracher's own online shop sells the 375ml bottle for €24 (checked Sept 2026).
What food pairs well with it?
Vivino users suggest sweet desserts, fruity desserts and blue cheese. With sweetness at 4.9/5, the contrast against a strong blue cheese like Roquefort works especially well.
What's the difference between Beerenauslese (BA) and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)?
Both are Austrian/German dessert-wine categories made from botrytis-affected grapes, but TBA selects berries that have shriveled almost to raisins ("trocken" means dry/shriveled), giving it far greater sugar concentration than BA. My note captures this directly: "my first Trocken, and it felt close to an ice wine."
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Wikipedia — Alois Kracher
- wineanorak.com — Visiting Kracher, one of the world's great sweet wine producers
- Kracher official — Noble Reserve Trockenbeerenauslese product page
Read next
Swipe for more →
Tasted the same dayTorre Raone, San Zopito Terre dei Vestini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2012
Italy · Abruzzo★★★★☆Same grapeEtienne Sauzet, Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 2012
France · Burgundy★★★★½Same grapeEtienne Sauzet, Montrachet Grand Cru 2012
France · Burgundy★★★★★Same grapeDomaine Laroche, Chablis Saint Martin 2018
France · Burgundy★★★½☆Same grapeAntinori, Castello della Sala 'Cervaro della Sala' 2016
Italy★★★★½Same grapeDeutz, Brut Classic (NV)
France · Champagne★★★☆☆Story