Dr. H. Thanisch's Rieslings are often mentioned amongst the top Rieslings producers of the Mosel (they are of course part of the German VDP association which puts them in a great class of Riesling makers, and so you'll see the symbol of the VDP eagle on every bottle), a valley that runs from Germany and into Luxembourg and France, breaking away from the Rhine River. The full name of the producer is actually Dr. Hugo Thanisch, and if you'll notice the name Doctor used twice, that's because even the Rieslings produced by Thanisch's legendary Berncasteler vineyard is given the nickname doctor as it was often drank by English King Edward VII who called it "medicine".

It was said that even former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kaiser Wilhelm II and former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer were all fans of the Berncasteler Doctor's wines too, with the wines featuring and numerous diplomatic functions and in the 1960's priced even higher than Bordeaux First Growths.

The Thanisch estate.

Beyond lore, the Thanisch estate is also of great repute for being the first in the Mosel Valley to produce a super concentrated Trockenbeerenauslesen (you'll have to pardon the incredibly long name, which is often abbreviated as TBA and sits at the highest tier of the German VDP Pradikat system, where TBA's are of the highest quality, ripeness and therefore price.) which was only possible out of a sheer stroke of luck during the 1921 harvest that was exceedingly hot and gave rise to the ripest grapes anyone had seen in decades, which were further concentrated as a result of botrytis.

The famed Berncasteler Doctor vineyard.

But lets take a step back, who is Dr. Hugo Thanisch. Thanisch had been a rather forward sighted vintner who had done much to hoist the family crest up high, creating a stellar reputation for the family's winemaking. He was the 9th generation vintner to helm the family's estate (which goes as far back as 1636), and his crowning achievement was his acquisition of the 3.25 hectare Doctor vineyard in 1882. This was no easy feat as the estate had already been renowned then and thus numerous parties had fought hard to get their hands on the vineyard.

Unfortunately, he would pass away just 10 years later at the age of 42, and would thus leave the family's estate in the hands of his widow. And hence the "Wwe." in the estate's name which is taken to mean "Witwe" for "Widow" in German. This was uncommon at the time for women to run a business (and eventually the names of her heirs "Erben" were added too), but eventually led to five successive generations of women leading the estate! Her success led to the estate taking on the name "Wwe. Dr. H. Thanisch", reflecting her position then. Today the estate is run by Sofia Thanisch and her daughter, Christina.

Christina in the vineyards.

Today the Thanisch estate is stretches 16 hectares along the steep slopes of the Mosel, and is spread across the vineyards Berncasteler Doctor, Bernkasteler Graben, Bernkasteler Lay and Bernkasteler Badstube. The soils of the Mosel are mineral rich, and at the same time characterised by easily decayed slate that breaks apart easily and is thus easy for vines to make full use of them when they dissolve into the ground water. And whilst the Mosel might come off relatively cooler in climate, it is actually one of Germany's warmest climatic zones, which has made it popular for viticulture. For the Thanisch sites, the slope gradient is staggeringly over 60%, and thus manual labor is the only means by which the vines can be tended to.

Chief winemaker Maximilian Ferger in the Thanisch treasury.

Each harvest, successive passes are made to pick out quality fruit at various intervals of ripeness as is typical of the VDP Pradikat classification. Once selected, the fruit goes into the 350 year old Doctor cellar, which has been carved into the rock underneath the vineyards, offering the wines more humidity and lower temperatures. It is also right here beneath the Berncasteler estates that one of the most incredible discoveries in the Mosel happened - the 1950's rediscovery of the treasury of wines hidden by the then Thanisch estate manager during the Weimar Republic. The treasury when rediscovered, was brought to auction, where numerous of its wines, many of which produced up to 100 years ago, including the aforementioned 1921 Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA), broke record prices with the 1921 TBA going for US$16,300.

Now going specifically into the Berncasteler Doctor vineyard, this is located behind the village of Bernkastel and till date remains one of the most prized vineyards in Germany. It's incredibly steep, with a South-South-West orientation and is marked by medium deep, stony, loamy weathered schist. The vines here run all the way up to 80 years old, all of which supports the production of full-bodied wines.

The Doctor vineyards in winter.

More wine lore tells us an alternative story as to how the vineyard got its "Doctor" moniker - accordingly the Elector Boemund of Trier had been struck with an incurable illness and had made a public announcement that whosoever could find him a cure would be rewarded with unimaginable riches. It was said that doctors, pharmacists, healers, and everyone in between had tried their hand to no avail. It wasn't until a nobleman finally showed up with a cup of golden wine that Boemund had finished, that he was cured just days later. When Boemund has thus asked the nobleman how he'd like to be rewarded, the nobleman simply said to bestow upon his vineyards a proper doctor's degree as it was indeed the true doctor - and thus the name "Berncasteler Doctor" stuck.

The Thanisch estates at Berncastel.

And so with all that said, it's time to try the 2018 vintage of the Berncasteler Doctor, here we're trying the Riesling Kabinett, which is the least ripe and sweet of the Pradikat's distinguished classes. The fruit used for the Kabinett tends to be selected on the first passing at the start of the harvest season, with the riper fruits picked later into the season going into the Spatlese or Auslese. A good Kabinett should be akin to biting into a fully ripe apple, so that's what we're looking for here.

Let's go! 

Wine Review: 2018 Berncasteler Doctor Riesling Kabinett, Wwe. Dr. H. Thanisch - Erben Thanisch

Tasting Notes 

Colour: Straw

Aroma: Opens up to vibrant and heady scents of elderflowers, gooseberries, as well as a side of barnyard funkiness. That minerality also coming through. There's some of that horse fur. With time, it moderates out to focusing on solely overripe apples.

Taste: Incredibly rich and sweet here, it's got a great body - so buoyant, vibrant, uplifting and fresh, it even has a slight effervescent quality about it. Spectacular! It's giving lots of ripened apples, some bordering on overripened and soft. There's such great focus here, completely centered and concentrated on that essential apple sweetness. It's superbly elegant and refined, like the purest quintessence of that distinct ripe apple note. It's bright and fresh, and again, great richness and roundedness here, almost with a syrupy texture.

Finish: Clean finish here, soft, rich and not quite crisp. Gentle lingering notes of apple sweetness and confectionary powdered sugar. 

My Thoughts 

This was an incredibly Kabinett Riesling - just totally mindboggling! Whilst on the nose, we didn't get too much of what was to come, on the palate it was an utter dream. It was just purified apple essence that was at once sweet, fresh, uplifting and did I mention that almost effervescent quality to it? Now it isn't cloyingly sweet, it just takes you almost there, but yet balances it out with some very subtle and understated acidity that holds it back, though not quite electrifying. It's full-bodied, demonstrates total purity, freshness, it's not heavy, instead it's buoyant and supple with a great richness and roundedness, delivering that focused and concentrated apple ripeness.

This nails it so hard with that singular and distinctive flavour that we want out of a Riesling, and as mentioned, without being overly sweet and flabby, here it's very much fresh, supple and with a good amount of energy and tension to it.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot