2017 was a year with frequent temperature changes, but the defining element was certainly the hottest summer since temperature records began. In September, which was significantly cooler and wetter, grape ripeness was already so advanced in many places that harvesting had to be done quickly and carefully in order to get clean harvesting material.
In the lower alcohol wines, 2017 largely turns out very well, as can be seen from a long line of pleasing Federspiele. In the Smaragd and Prestige wines, the line between power and heaviness was rather narrow; it depended very much on the site and above all on the winemaker's skill in keeping the alcohol power in check and contrasting it with sufficient backbone, substance, depth and finesse. The acids also fluctuate between very restrained and surprisingly present.
Not all producers managed this balancing act equally well. Really weak wines are very rare, but there are some where a second glass can be exhausting. With others, you can only marvel at how well their makers have managed the balancing act: for all their power, the best wines are taut, brilliantly pure, lively, animatingly juicy and mineral. The minerality in particular often seems to be the deciding factor, because it gives the wines backbone and also a cool element. Actually, one would like to assume that Riesling has clear advantages in such vintages due to its higher acidity, but the results hardly show such a tendency.
This year we tasted around 170 wines from the Wachau. As always, we present the best of them here and here. as PDF before. Unfortunately, no wines were presented to us by some of the top wineries, which is why we refrain from presenting them at BEST OF this year.
Links to all wines with detailed descriptions in the wine guide can be found by clicking on the respective headings.
- 93WP 2017 Bruck Smaragd "Old Parcels", Högl
- 93WP 2017 Bruck Smaragd, Högl
- 93WP 2017 Singerriedel Smaragd, Domäne Wachau
- 93WP 2004 "Steinriesler", Nikolaihof
- 92WP 2017 Hochrain Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 92WP 2017 Kalkofen Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 92WP 2012 "Maximilian Edition Traditional", Lagler
- 91WP 2017 Freiheit Smaragd, Schmelz
- 91WP 2017 Bruck, Muthenthaler
- 91WP 2017 1000 Eimerberg Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 91WP 2017 Achleiten Smaragd, Domäne Wachau
- 91WP 2017 Achleiten Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 91WP 2014 Smaragd "vom Stein", Nikolaihof
- 91WP 2016 Freiheit Smaragd, Schmelz
- 90WP 2014 Dog, Nikolaihof
- 90WP 2017 Dürnstein Reserve, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 90WP 2017 Kollmütz Smaragd, Machherndl
- 90WP 2016 Harzenleiten Smaragd, Franz Pichler
- 90WP 2017 Kirchweg Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 89WP 2016 Setzberg Smaragd, Schneeweis
- 89WP 2017 Steinriegel Smaragd, Schmelz
- 89WP 2015 Setzberg Smaragd, Mayer
- 89WP 2016 Kollmitz Emerald, Franz Pichler
- 89WP 2017 Joching Smaragd "Best Of", Schmelz
- 89WP 2017 Smaragd "Vision", Högl
- 89WP 2016 Mühlgraben Smaragd, Mayer
- 89WP 2017 Biern Smaragd, Piewald
- 88WP 2017 Kaiserberg Smaragd, Pomaßl
- 88WP 2015 Setzberg Smaragd, Schneeweis
- 88WP 2016 Schreiberberg Smaragd, Schwarz
- 88WP 2017 1000 Eimerberg Smaragd, Hofstätter
- 88WP 2017 1000 Eimerberg Federspiel, Domäne Wachau
- 88WP 2016 1000 Eimerberg Smaragd, Schneeweis
- 88WP 2017 Loibenberg Smaragd, Konrad
- 88WP 2017 Schreiberberg Smaragd, Schwarz
- 88WP 2011 1000 Eimerberg Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 93WP 2017 Kellerberg Smaragd, Domäne Wachau
- 92WP 2017 Schön, Muthenthaler
- 92WP 2017 Schön Smaragd "Old Parcels", Högl
- 92WP 2017 Hochrain Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 92WP 2017 Achleiten Smaragd, Domäne Wachau
- 91WP 2016 Kollmütz Smaragd, Franz Pichler
- 91WP 2016 Hochrain Smaragd, Franz Pichler
- 91WP 2017 Achleiten Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 91WP 2016 Smaragd "Best Of", Schmelz
- 91WP 2017 Tausendeimerberg Smaragd, Högl
- 90WP 2016 Kollmitz Smaragd, Franz Pichler
- 90WP 2017 Joching Smaragd "Best Of", Schmelz
- 90WP 2017 Hochrain Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 90WP 2017 Kaiserberg Smaragd, Högl
- 89WP 2017 Singerriedel Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 89WP 2015 Setzberg Reserve, Schneeweis
- 89WP 2017 Smaragd, Roman Gritsch
- 89WP 2017 Kollmütz Smaragd, Rudi Pichler
- 89WP 2017 Pichl Point Smaragd, Schmelz
- 88WP 2017 Smaragd "Maximus", Graf
- 88WP 2017 Kaiserberg Smaragd, Schwarz
- 88WP 2017 Loibenberg Smaragd, Gritsch - Mauritiushof
- 88WP 2016 Alte Point Smaragd, Hutter
- 88WP 2016 Setzberg Smaragd "Florian Johannes", Schneeweis
- 88WP 2017 Oberhauser Smaragd, Schwarz
- 88WP 2017 Kalkofen Emerald, Piewald
- 88WP 2017 Bachsatz Smaragd, Schwaiger
- 88WP 2016 Kaiserberg Smaragd, Hermengild Mang
- 88WP 2017 Steinertal Smaragd, Schmelz
- 88WP 2016 Mühlgraben Emerald, Mayer
- 88WP 2017 Kollmitz Federspiel, Domäne Wachau
- 88WP 2017 Setzberg Smaragd, Roman Gritsch
- 88WP 2017 Postolern Smaragd, Machherndl