Recently, I met with Sofia Thanisch, the owner and proprietor of Wwe. Dr H. Thanisch-Erben Thanisch to taste her 2007 Rieslings. Thanisch is one of the top producers in Germany and the main vineyard, Berncastler Doctor, has been held up as the German equivalent of Romanee-Conti. It could be considered the most expensive piece of vineyard land in the world (yes, more than Le Montrachet) based on the price paid the last time any land was sold within the vineyard (1908) when 100 gold Deutsche Marks were paid per SQUARE METER when vines were planted one to the square meter. The label may be the most iconic in all of Germany. The vineyard itself overlooks the Mosel, facing south-southwest and at more than a sixty degree slope making harvest a difficult, almost a dangerous proposition. These wines are made in varying quantities every year, between 100-700 cases, depending on the ripeness of the grapes both from the Berncastler Doctor vineyard and the surrounding Bernkasteler Badstube. Just a quick comment on the “c” versus the “k” in Berncastler…the vineyard labels for Berncastler Doctor were registered in 1904 hence the “c” versus the true German “k” both in Berncastler and Doctor. This is why you see variation when the wines are written up using “k”. Thanisch uses a “k” in Bernkasteler Badstube. Again, German wine labels are easy…

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