Scroll quickly through the tasting notes for the highest-rated wines in this year’s Germany Report and your eyes might pop out. At first glance, it might look as if Germany’s 2023 vintage for whites and 2022 vintage for reds are the greatest of modern times, so numerous are the wines with high ratings. What happened? Senior Stuart Pigott explains…

Although South Africa’s 2023 vintage suffered from months of heavy rainfall near the end of harvest season, it still produced exceptional chenin blanc, syrah and Rhone varietals from the Swartland, as well as some terrific pinot noir and chardonnay from the southern coastal regions.

Galicia has long been a reliable source for exceptional white wines, with its distinctive offerings embodying freshness and salinity, but it has become an even more captivating region for wine enthusiasts as it comes on strong with its reds.

The 2023 vintage in Austria was nearly a disaster because of a deluge of rain and hail in the Danube region in September of that year, but some beautiful weather after that resulted in wines with the aromatic ripeness and harmonious acidities of a very good vintage.

Andrea Leon of Lapostolle and Clos Apalta in Chile talks with JamesSuckling.com about the unusual quality and character of Chile’s Apalta wine region, the importance of preserving Maule’s old vines and how Chile can break free from its “cheap and cheerful” wine persona worldwide.