Weinkellerei Burgenland, Trockenbeerenauslese, 1991

In theory, this wine would have warranted a long review. First of all a twenty year old wine that is still enjoyable should be worth saying something about. Then it was also a gift from a friend who bought it for peanuts from an English wine shop years ago - since then it has lived in his attic until he donated it to a little wine tasting I hosted in August. The reason that I am not inclined to honour it with a long story is that when I emailed the estate to learn more about the wine they didn't even bother with a one line reply. They are of course not obliged to, but then neither am I to spend more time on it.

The colour, a deep amber bordering on reddish, shows the age of the wine. From a Trockenbeerenauslese (literally 'selection of dry berries', late harvested over-ripe grapes) you'd expect sweetness and this Austrian blend certainly delivers. The nose is sweet and heavy, very raisiny with an alcoholic touch - almost like brandy served raisin. A friend referred to it as 'rum and raisin ice cream'. On the tongue we got thick and robust sweetness, certainly very quaffable, with exotic fruit such as papaya and a little spice in the sticky finish.

It is creamy, it is thick - the others were quite excited about the wine. I enjoyed it but would have wanted a little more elegance and vibrancy to balance the sweetness. Definitely good with dessert though, particularly with ice cream.