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Several developments are currently striking in South Tyrol. At least some producers are visibly bucking the trend towards ever warmer wines with rising alcohol levels, which seems to have reached its peak for the time being with the 2017 vintage. The 2018s - as far as we have tasted them so far, many top wines are still to come - often seem a bit leaner, more precise and fresher than their counterparts from the last 3 years.
IDM / Florian Andergassen

The increasing number of prestige cuvees or icon wines is also striking. Many of these special bottlings, which often only come on sale after years, definitely live up to the high expectations they arouse, especially where they don't overdo it with the weight (and the wood). Thus, the number of top ratings in our annual BEST OF is noticeably increasing, at least for white wines.

But this is also due to a third development: more and more producers are successfully experimenting with alternative cultivation and vinification methods. The number of so-called natural or orange wines is increasing, and even where only some of the natural wine ideas are taken up, the results are often convincing.

Those varieties that naturally tend to be rich in sugar and thus alcohol are falling behind: Pinot Gris and especially Gewürztraminer, many of which, for all their undoubted quality, turned out to us a little too tiring and alcoholic.

Among the red wines, we see a somewhat ambivalent picture. Especially many Lagrein from the 2016 and 2017 vintages are very good, but also seem to be exhausted in terms of thickness, weight and alcohol. The long-standing trend towards more differentiated and finer wines seems to have stopped for the time being. This also leads to an unusual list of best wines this year, in which some of the absolute top wines are exceptionally not at the top, because they lack the necessary finesse due to their sheer power. Here we hope above all that the forthcoming 18 will keep the promises it has only hinted at so far.

The development of Pinot Noirs, which are gaining in character and subtlety with many producers, continues to be pleasing, while marmalade-warm, rather one-dimensional examples, as they used to be, are becoming rarer and rarer to find.

We tasted around 450 wines from South Tyrol for this BEST OF. Here and as PDF we can only present the very best of the respective categories. You can find a wealth of other highly recommended wines by clicking on the respective headings. At the very end you will also find links to grape varieties and wine types for which there was unfortunately no more space in BEST OF.

White wines

Pinot Blanc

  • 93WP 2006 "Rarity", Terlan Winery
  • 91WP 2017 "Vorberg", Terlan Winery
  • 90WP 2013 Riserva "V Years", Merano Winery
  • 90WP 2014 "T.N. 76", Thomas Niedermayr
  • 90WP 2012 "Eichhorn", Manincor
  • 89WP 2017 Riserva "Passion", St. Pauls Winery

Pinot Gris

Chardonnay

  • 93WP 2016 Riserva "Troy", Cantina Tramin
  • 93WP 2016 Riserva "Vigna AU", Tiefenbrunner
  • 93WP 2016 "Löwengang", Lageder
  • 92WP 2017 Riserva "Vigna Castel Ringberg", Elena Walch
  • 91WP 2017 "Sanct Valentin", St. Michael-Eppan
  • 90WP 2017 Riserva, Englar Castle
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Baron Salvadori", Nals-Magreid Winery
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Freienfeld", Kurtatsch Winery
  • 89WP 2017 Riserva "Doran", Andrian
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva, Bolzano Winery
  • 89WP 2016 Korb Castle

Sauvignon Blanc

  • 92WP 2017 "Lieben Aich", Manincor
  • 92WP 2017 "Lafóa", Schreckbichl Winery
  • 92WP 2018 "Andrius", Winery Andrian
  • 92WP 2017 "Quarz", Terlan Winery
  • 91WP 2017 "Oberberg", Kornell
  • 91WP 2015 "Lieben Aich", Manincor
  • 91WP 2018 "Sanct Valentin", St. Michael-Eppan
  • 90WP 2016 Riserva "Rachtl", Tiefenbrunner
  • 90WP 2018 "Vigna Castel Ringberg", Elena Walch
  • 90WP 2016 Riserva "Burgum Novum", Castelfeder Winery
  • 90WP 2017 Riserva "Mathias", Pfitscher
  • 89WP 2017 "salis", Oberstein
  • 89WP 2017 Riserva "Greel", Bolzano Winery
  • 89WP 2018 "Raif", Castelfeder
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Oyell", Provincial Winery Laimburg
  • 89WP 2018 "Winkl", Terlan Winery
  • 89WP 2018 "Passion", St. Pauls Winery
  • 89WP 2017 "preyda", Seppi

Gewürztraminer

  • 90WP 2018 "Vigna Kastelaz", Elena Walch
  • 89WP 2017 "Am Sand", Lageder

Riesling

  • 89WP 2017 Englar Castle

Cuvée and others

  • 93WP SOU MA XVII, Lageder
  • 92WP 2017 "Nova Domus", Terlan Winery
  • 92WP ZIE XVI, Lageder
  • 92WP MIN XVI, Lageder
  • 91WP THUR XVI, Lageder
  • 91WP 2016 "Cason Hirschprunn", Lageder
  • 90WP SOU XVII, Lageder
  • 90WP 2017 "Amos", Kurtatsch Winery
  • 89WP 2017 "White Craft", Kiemberger
  • 89WP 2018 Terlaner, Terlan Winery
  • 89WP SEM XVII, Lageder
  • 89WP 2017 Manzoni Bianco "Fórra", Lageder
  • 89WP 2016 "Eart", Bergmannhof
  • 89WP 2018 "Stoan", Cantina Tramin
  • 89WP 2017 "Liebenstein", Baron Longo
  • 89WP 2012 "Abtei Muri", Muri-Gries
  • 89WP 2017 "Aichberg", Kornell
  • 89WP BLA BLA 2, Lageder

Sweet wines

Spumante

Red wines

Lagrein

  • 91WP 2016 Riserva "Linticlarus", Tiefenbrunner
  • 90WP 2017 "Mirell", Christian Plattner - Waldgries
  • 90WP 2017 Riserva "Taber", Bolzano Winery
  • 90WP 2016 Riserva "Vigna Castel Ringberg", Elena Walch
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Praepositus". Abbey Winery Neustift
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Carano", Baron die Pauli
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Sigis Mundus", Schreckbichl Winery
  • 89WP 2015 "Lindenburg", Lageder
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Abbey Muri", Muri-Gries
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "tor di lupo", Winery Andrian
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Maturum", Winery K. Martini & Sohn
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Porphyr", Terlan Winery
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva, Pfannenstielhof
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Puntay", Erste+Neue
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Barbagòl", Laimburg Regional Winery
  • 88WP 2017 "Friedberg", Baron Longo
  • 88WP 2015 Riserva W "Burgum Novum", Castelfeder Winery
  • 88WP 2017 Riserva "Sond", T. Pichler
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva, Kiemberger
  • 88WP 2017 Riserva "Passion", St. Pauls Winery
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Select", Hans Rottensteiner
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Blessing", Merano Winery
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Der Bergmann", Bergmannhof
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva, Castel Sallegg
  • 88WP 2017 Riserva "Bos Taurus", Niklas
  • 88WP 2016 "Morus", H. Lentsch
  • 88WP 2017 "Turmhof", Tiefenbrunner
  • 88WP 2017 "Staffes", Kornell

Cabernet Sauvignon

  • 92WP 2016 "COR Römigberg", Lageder
  • 90WP 2015 Riserva "Toren", Tiefenbrunner
  • 90WP 2016 "Lafóa", Schreckbichl Winery
  • 88WP 2015 Riserva "Freienfeld", Kurtatsch Winery

Merlot

Pinot Nero

  • 90WP 2016 Riserva "Linticlarus", Tiefenbrunner
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Burgum Novum", Castelfeder
  • 89WP 2016 "Krafuss", Lageder
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Puntay", Erste+Neue
  • 88WP 2017 Riserva "Thalman", Bolzano Winery
  • 88WP 2017 Englar Castle
  • 88WP 2017 Riserva, R. Malojer - Gummerhof
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Zeno", Merano Winery
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Exclusiv", Plonerhof
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Praepositus", Neustift Abbey Winery
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Aegis", Kollerhof
  • 88WP 2016 Kollerhof
  • 88WP 2016 "Maso delle Rose", Josef Weger
  • 88WP 2016 Riserva "Abbey Muri", Muri-Gries

St. Magdalener

Cuvée and others

  • 92WP "Amistar Edizione (X016), Peter Sölva
  • 91WP 2017 "Furioso", T. Pichler
  • 91WP 2016 Riserva "Sanct Valentin", St. Michael-Eppan Winery
  • 91WP "Viribus Unitis", Kiemberger
  • 90WP 2015 "Kalch", Bergmannhof
  • 90WP RAH XVI, Lageder
  • 90WP "Freistil", In Der Eben
  • 90WP 2015 "Col de Réy", Landesweingut Laimburg
  • 90WP 2016 "Castel Campan", Manincor
  • 89WP 2017 "Stoanodler", Niklas
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Anticus", Nals-Magreid Winery
  • 89WP TAN XV, Lageder
  • 89WP 2016 "Cornelius", Schreckbichl Winery
  • 89WP 2016 Riserva "Linticlarus", Tiefenbrunner
  • 88WP 2016 "Chorus Madrigal", Castel Sallegg
  • 88WP 2017 "Mauritius", Bolzano Winery
  • 88WP 2016 "Sankt Anna", In Der Eben
  • 88WP 2015 "Erah", Haderburg
  • 88WP 2016 "Soma", Kurtatsch Winery
  • 88WP 2018 "Bonifazius", Zollweghof
  • 88WP 2016 "Palestina", H. Lentsch

Rose Muscat

  • 89WP 2016 "Pasithea Rosa", Girlan Winery
  • 89WP 2018 "Rosis", Bolzano Winery
  • 88WP 2017 "Praepositus", Abbey Winery Neustift

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