Marcus Hofschuster and Kim Schreiber have honoured 27 wineries from three countries this year. 17 received the prize for the "Collection of the Year", eleven wineries are their "Discoveries of the Year". Here are the winners of the season!
We award the "Collections of the Year" to wineries that have caught our eye in a particularly positive way over the past season and that have impressed us with particularly distinctive wines and ranges. These can be famous top producers, but also up-and-coming wineries whose performance has given us the impression that they are currently establishing themselves at the absolute top of the region.
The "Discoveries of the Year" are awarded to wineries that we were not aware of until recently or that have made the biggest leap in quality in their respective regions. We can recommend them to any wine lover who wants to get to know new top winemakers.
Whether we award a prize also depends on how representative the wine entries from the respective region are, but also on how complete the eligible wineries have submitted their wines. It is also important to us how good the overall standard of the individual wine regions is. It is therefore possible that we will not award any prizes at all for some regions, while for others we may only award a Collection or a Discovery of the Year.
This year's award winners were selected from the tasting results of around 7,200 wines, which were generally blind tasted and often tasted several times. A total of 27 wineries from three countries can be delighted with their awards this year, 17 receive the prize for the "Collection of the Year" in their respective growing region, and we celebrate "Discoveries of the Year" in ten regions.
If there weren't Julia Bertram and Benedikt Baltes, nobody would believe that Pinot Noir wines with an alcohol content of less than 12 per cent by volume are possible on the Ahr, whose concentration, depth and complexity can easily compete with all other top wines in the region. The way in which light-footedness and brilliance are combined with expressiveness is no small feat. There are Bertram and Baltes, and yet it is hard to believe.
Thomas Seeger became known above all for his powerful white and red Pinot varieties, which he often gave a spirited use of new wood. Supporters and opponents could argue about this style, although the wines often mature excellently. The gradual change in style that the winery has undergone in recent years could easily settle this dispute. The wines have become leaner and finer without losing concentration or depth. The current range has no weaknesses; even the base wines are remarkably good. The 2022 Pinot Noir "Oberklam" could develop into the greatest red wine in the company's history; the Chardonnay "RR" from the same year is one of the absolute best in the country when it comes to white Pinot varieties.
The winery, which was only founded in 2021, produces fairly independent wines from white and red Pinot varieties on just one hectare of vines: moderate in alcohol, but with expression and character. We were already impressed by the first wines in 2023, and the current series clearly confirms this impression.
Expectations were high for the 2022 Pinot Noir from Fürst - and they were exceeded. We are not sure that such fine, complex, profound and noble Pinot Noir has ever been produced in Germany before. The red wines would therefore be reason enough to honour the Fürst family with the "Collection of the Year" once again - if it weren't for the excellent Rieslings and some of the best Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay wines that the country has to offer. The attribute "world class" is often used a little too hastily in the wine world. There is no other here.
Franconia is perhaps the most dynamic wine region in Germany at the moment. In some years, we come across so many previously unknown wineries with remarkable wines that we can't keep up with the awards. Uwe Geßner also caught our attention for the first time with his 2019 vintage. However, the attention for the winery from the small municipality of Garstadt in the south of Schweinfurt still seems to be far too low in view of the quality on offer here. Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau are just as successful here as white Pinot varieties, Riesling or the old Franconian Mischsatz. Not to forget: the excellent Zweigelt!
We could also have honoured Marc Josten for Discovery of the Year on the Ahr - the winery is located in Remagen-Kripp, right where the Ahr flows into the Rhine. He produces his wines in Mayschoß on the Ahr and in Leutesdorf on the Middle Rhine. We don't know what to celebrate more: the remarkably good Pinot Noirs and Pinot Madeleines from the Ahr - also in a sparkling version - or the whites from the Middle Rhine, where, interestingly, more Pinot varieties and Sauvignon Blanc are produced than Riesling. Everything here has a certain class.
The 2023 Grosse Gewächse from Clemens Busch are perhaps the most impressive series of dry Rieslings that we know from this estate. However, this year's presentation is crowned by a magnificent 2016 Reserve from the Rothenpfad.
No matter what Tim Fröhlich presented to us last year, Riesling or Pinot varieties, dry, sweet or noble sweet: without exception, everything was first-class in its category. We actually thought that nothing could surprise us at this top winery. But it was news to us that even outstanding Pinot Noir is now produced here.
Steffen Montigny and Stefan Schmidt produce decidedly lean, cool and light-coloured wines, predominantly from Riesling and Pinot varieties, whose clarity and precision clearly show the meticulousness with which they work here. The aim of the now certified organic winery is to restore the former Anheuser-owned vineyards in Bad Kreuznach to their former glory.
Since Sophie Christmann joined her parents' business, the winery has been thoroughly reorganised. The vineyard holdings have been reduced to the best sites and the portfolio - apart from a little Pinot Blanc - now focuses solely on Riesling and Pinot Noir, which are cooler, finer, more exciting and brilliant than ever before. The vintages 2023 for the white wines and 2022 for the Pinot Noirs mark the (probably only temporary) highlights of this story.
Freya Lichti and Alex Strohschneider began producing their own wine back in 2018, but have only been doing so at their own certified organic winery since 2022. The first wines, some from old, non-vineyard-cleared plots in Leistadt and other top vineyards in Laumersheim and Großkarlbach, already show that they are passionate about what they do. They arouse curiosity about what is yet to come. Be sure to keep an eye on them!
Johannes Leitz should actually have had a harder time of it: The Rheingau only releases its Grosse Gewächse wines a year late - and Leitz is one of the Rheingau winegrowers who only presented their wines to us when they were launched on the market. His 2022s therefore had to assert themselves against plenty of competition from 2023. We are in awe of how well they managed to do this despite the difficult vintage. The wines are not only first-class, they also show highly individual character from vineyard to vineyard. But it's not just the 2022 Rieslings that are worth recommending, we were also pleasantly surprised by the Chardonnays.
After an absence of almost ten years, the Bischöfliche Weingut presented us with wines again for the first time - but an extensive range from several vintages. The Pinot Noirs from 2018, 2019 and 2020 in particular are so good that we now have to count the estate among the most important Pinot producers in the state. The Riesling qualities are perhaps not quite as uniform. But here, too, it is not difficult to find convincing wines, especially if the wines are given some time to mature.
For the first time in our 25-year history, two wines from one winery have received the perfect rating. Over the past 25 years, the Keller family have produced some of the greatest dry Rieslings ever, and every year they continue to improve their quality a little further. Today, the wines combine precision, brilliance, depth, tension and concentration in a way that few other producers in the world are able to achieve. In the meantime, the Pinots are following suit. Some first-class wines have already been produced here in the past, but what we have tasted from 2022 raises the level to a new stage.
The young winery presented itself to us for the first time last year with six wines - and none of them disappointed us. White Pinot varieties, Riesling (also as sparkling wine) and Pinot Noir are equally convincing and make us curious about what is yet to come.
The wines from Schloss Proschwitz have always been good and recommendable, but recently the wines seem to have become even more refined, sophisticated and full of character. The large assortment that we have currently tasted shows no weaknesses whatsoever. Time and time again, we were amazed at the quality we received from Meissen. Our first "Collection of the Year" from Saxony in a long time - and well deserved!
The winery was already one of the leading wineries under Ernst Dautel. A pioneer of superior red wine qualities and one of the first to make Chardonnay acceptable in Germany. With his son Christian, the wines gained even more finesse, expressiveness and depth. No wonder: after studying in Geisenheim and Bordeaux and during his internships around the world with some of the best winemakers, he was able to perfect his winemaking skills. In one of Germany's most dynamic wine regions, where quality is constantly on the rise, Dautel has once again taken the lead.
Few things surprised us as much last year as the collection from this co-operative from Vaihingen an der Enz. What is bottled here at prices of around ten euros has no need to fear any competition in this class: extremely carefully prepared wines with substance and character. The range we tasted - 15 wines after all - reveals no weaknesses. We definitely take our hats off a little.
Georg Frischengruber makes Wachau wines in a style all of their own: polished, fresh and juicy, often astonishingly cool and often so fruit-driven when young that you only realise the depth, mineral energy and complex expression they possess after the second or third sip. The 2023 vintage shows extraordinary qualities in both Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.
The Weinviertel wines made from Veltliner and Pinot varieties are as individual and strong in character as their design. Just don't make the mistake of overlooking the excellent sparkling wines among all the good still wines!
We are always impressed by the blend of precision and complexity, freshness and vigour, transparency and depth in Reinhold Krutzler's wines. Only a few have mastered Blaufränkisch like him; his Perwolff is undoubtedly one of the greatest wines of this special variety. However, it is not only the Blaufränkisch wines that have impressed us, Merlot and Welschriesling are also of real class.
Hannes Sabathi presented us with a marvellous series last year! We don't know what to recommend more; the noble Chardonnays, the impressive Sauvignons or the amazingly polished and cool Pinot Gris? They are all first class. And if you're in the mood for something sweet, go for the top-class Trockenbeerenauslese wines.
Hartmann Donà is the great master of Vernatsch. The depth and aromatic complexity he is able to tease out of this variety is incredible. You could drink in the highly individual, exciting and incredibly mineral wines of the "Liquid Stone" series from three different soils forever. The "Donà Rouge" challenges every Pinot Noir in its price range - and should almost always win. Even the sparkling wine is excellent. Anyone who has ever harboured prejudices against Vernatsch will bury them forever after Donà's wines.
The wines from Travaglini immediately stand out due to their unconventional design with rather old-fashioned labels and historic-looking bottles. Anyone unfamiliar with the estate might be put off by this. A big mistake! Because the bottles contain some of the greatest Nebbiolo in northern Piedmont, if not Piedmont in general: traditional in style, profound, powerful, multi-layered, often enormously mineral and capable of developing over a long period of time. In the end, the design proves to be an advantage: these icons of Gattinara will not be overlooked anywhere.
The Chianti from Tenuta di Arceno can be very powerful, but their emphatically Mediterranean style surprises with its freshness, precision and cooling ethereality. They need air to reveal their qualities layer by layer. The 2021 series of Riserva and the two Gran Selezione is simply magnificent.
Mark Barth works meticulously to refine his sparkling wines, which are now at least as important to the estate as his still wines. His "Ultra" made from pure Pinot Noir has long been one of our favourites. If it has to be admitted today that Riesling can also be used to produce real top-quality sparkling wine, this is due in no small part to Mark Barth and his sparkling wines from first and great vineyards.
