Tasted, described and rated: The best 1,200 red wines - from dry to fruity, from strong to expressive and from lively to brilliant. All photos from the award ceremony can be found in our picture gallery.
We are delighted to present the results of the 44th Falstaff Red Wine Awards.
The winners of numerous categories were once again presented with their awards in person this year, in the festive setting of the Vienna Hofburg on the occasion of the traditional Red Wine Gala.
This year, the coveted title of "Falstaff Winner" went to the wine with the highest number of points from the 2021 vintage, which was determined by the nine-member expert jury in a final blind tasting. More than 600 wines were submitted for the main competition, from which the numerous varietal winners of this excellent vintage were chosen.
The best young red wines from 2022 had already been determined in advance; these "Grand Prix winners" were selected from the three groups Blauer Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and Cuvée. More than 300 wines from the 2020 and older vintages competed in the "Reserve Trophy" category, which was once again awarded this year in the two categories "Blaufränkisch" and "Cuvées and other varieties".
The 2021 vintage shines with fine fruit, elegance, structure and great ageing potential.
With the award-winning 2021 vintage, the expert jury had to judge a wide range of top wines that had made it to the final round of the respective category, due to their quality in the preliminary tastings. The question of wine style now played a decisive role here. In Austria today wine lovers can find two trends, both of which have their justification and enjoy an enthusiastic following. It is now time to go one step further and rethink Austrian red wine.
Today, one often gets the impression that a kind of zero-eight-fifteen vinification has crept into our red wines. The wines are largely clean, only rarely oxidative, but unfortunately too often meaningless. Wood is handled carelessly by large sections of producers. There is often a lack of sensitivity here. The wood component is still far too often noticeable in the wines, the tannins also point to over-extraction, the green and unripe nuances do not improve even with longer bottle ageing, as many a producer obviously still hopes. Some of the local red wines apparently linger in a good vintage at a low level with hardly overlookable rusticity which, fortunately, Austrian consumers seem to have become accustomed to - a dark-coloured, extract- and tannin-rich style, rich in alcohol, which is very popular in the important home market, but also in Switzerland, and of course has its justification.
However, if you want to succeed internationally, you need to be aware of likely future trends; a different tune has long been played on this stage, the "wind of change" is blowing. Whether in Great Britain, the USA or the northern European countries: freshness and light-footedness with clear definition and length are in demand, not alcohol, full-bodiedness and the presence of wood. And there is no doubt that Austria also produces world-class wines in this style. Thanks to dedicated sommeliers, these wines are increasingly finding their way into top local restaurants, where they impress with their finesse.
As before, the current products were described and evaluated according to variety groups and vintages. The wines are ranked in ascending order according to their farm-gate price. You will find almost all the well-known producers in this guide, but certainly also a large number of winegrowers that you may not have heard of before. The "Falstaff Reserve Trophy" is also of particular importance. With the 2020 vintage and some older reserve wines, an enormous number of top Austrian red wines that have undergone longer barrel ageing were entered in this competition. Whether in the "Young Wine Grand Prix 2023", the recommended wines from 2021 or the excellent reserves: you are sure to find what you are looking for in the current Falstaff Red Wine Guide 2024.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wineries once again on behalf of Falstaff-Verlag for the trust they have placed in us over the years, as this project is ultimately based on voluntary work. I would also like to thank all the members of our expert jury, as it is their professional judgement that gives the results of this award its special weight. We hope you enjoy reading, tasting and discovering a variety of Austrian red wines that we have tasted and approved for you and would like to recommend to you.
