Moody afternoon clouds over a wintry Lake Neusiedl, now thankfully full of water again.

The Climate Change Centre Austria notes that 2023 was the second warmest year since records began, with September and October the warmest ever measured. An average of 830 mm of rain made 2023 the second wettest year on record after 1961. Scientists also felt compelled to mention the “unusually sunny and dry September,” with this stable weather not changing until the last third of October, when all but botrytized fruit was safely in the cellars. 

Kurt Feiler of Weingut Feiler-Artinge on Lake Neusiedl sketched 2023 and put it into context: “From 2018 onwards, each year was dry, with 2022 being the driest. There was only little rain in winter until spring 2023, and the rain came in April. This was followed by more rain and, thank heavens, the Lake stabilized.” Indeed, the almost dry bed of Lake Neusiedl had made headlines in 2022, prompting visions of ecological doom, despite the fact that the lake had dried out at various points in history. What was good for Lake Neusiedl also helped the vines. “Generally, 2023 was a warm year,” Feiler said, “but rain always came in the right moment. The only negative was that it almost did not stop in spring, so there was some disease pressure and moisture during flowering. This affected Chardonnay a little, but the other varieties were fine. The last proper rain came in early August, giving the vines everything they needed for that last push of ripeness. From then on, it was no longer brutally hot, and the nights were cool.” Josep Umathum, of Weingut Umathum on the other shore of the lake, noted that some days reached temperatures of 30°C in October.

Winter sunlight floods the tasting room at Weingut Pittnauer.

Birgit Braunstein in Purbach explained that 2023 “certainly had been challenging.” The biggest pressure was oidium (powdery mildew) as the proximity to the lake always creates dew, even in dry periods. Ensuring a ventilated canopy is thus a full-time job. Braunstein’s chief memory is the amount of grapes she ate just before and during harvest, simply because they were “irresistibly delicious,” benefitting from extended ripening and “crunchy acidity.” Rudi Wagentristl in Grosshöflein described relatively late development of the vines in spring and a significant amount of rain until flowering, followed by successions of rain and sun. Wagentristl measured 770 mm of rain against a long-term average of 650 mm. Frank Schindler of Weingut Esterházy in Trausdorf an der Wulka added that there was “always wind” following the rains, which helped to dry the vine canopies out. Schindler noted that the weather was so stable throughout harvest that they could pick almost at leisure, explaining, “From the first Sekt base wines to the last Cabernet Sauvignon, harvest took almost ten weeks.”  

Carnuntum & Thermenregion 

Bernhard Stadlmann, of Weingut Stadlmann in Traiskirchen in the Thermenregion, remembers the rather late budburst in 2023, which reminded him of a former, now bygone normal. He was thankful for the regular rain, especially since spring rains were followed by a dry period in June. Rainfall in early September initially prompted worries about rot but in fact helped to stabilize the vines without any explosions in sugar accumulation. The September harvest happened in dry weather and produced healthy grapes.

Johannes Reinisch with his son Sebastian, who has taken over winemaking at Johanneshof Reinisch as of the 2024 vintage.

Likewise, Christine Netzl of Weingut Netzl in Göttlesbrunn in Carnuntum remarked on the relatively late start to the vegetation, adding, “Spring had been challenging with moisture and fog, without much rain but nonetheless high humidity. There was disease pressure we had to stay on top of.” But harvest, which started relatively late on September 13, was “more relaxed,” Netzel said, with “cool nights affording us good aromatic development.” 

Neuburger Surprises and Exquisite Blaufränkisch 

The surprise of the 2023 harvest was the relatively little-known Neuburger grape, a white variety that can tend toward flabbiness. I had to double-check the labels to see if the peachy, aromatic wines I was tasting really were Neuburger, since I simply had never tasted such juicy, appetizing expressions of the variety before. Throughout, the 2023 white wines have balance and welcome freshness.

It's not what it looks like—Isabelle the dog is not after the wine Georg Prieler opens but the cork.

The reds from the 2022 vintage are spectacular, too. The dryness of the growing season (see last year’s report) meant chiefly one thing: the absence of any rot. Those who make Pinot Noir, primarily in the Thermenregion, have learned the importance of harvest point and are employing whole-berry and whole-bunch ferments to produce exquisitely silky wines. The star of the show, however, is undoubtedly Blaufränkisch, a late-ripening variety that requires a certain amount of heat. Its abiding advantage is that it does not clock up huge amounts of potential alcohol. In fact, there is not a single pure Blaufränkisch in this report from 2022 that is labeled above 13.5% alcohol. But even more important than alcohol levels is Blaufränkisch’s natural acidity, which makes it shine. After my ode to this variety in last year’s report, I was treated to yet another style of Blaufränkisch I had never tasted: the 2017 Saudade Blaufränkisch, made by Dorli Muhr as a homage to Tawny Port. Blaufränkisch, it seems, can simply do everything. Today’s producers, whether they pursue a translucent or extracted style, always put elegance first. The wines are miles away from the often over-oaked specimens of yesteryear.  

I tasted all the wines for this report during estate visits in November 2024.

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