# Thanisch Lieser Niederberg Helden Riesling GG (2024)

- **Producer:** Weingut Thanisch
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Riesling
- **Region:** Mosel, Germany
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €26
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, pear, peach, apricot, lemon, grapefruit, ginger, biscuit, bread, butter, smoke, honey, petrol, kerosene

## About this wine

Weingut Thanisch, led by Jörg Thanisch, is located in the historic Mosel village of Lieser and has a winemaking heritage dating back to 1648. This flagship "Großes Gewächs" (GG) is sourced from the Lieserer Niederberg-Helden, an incredibly steep, amphitheater-like vineyard with a 60% to 75% gradient. The vines grow on Devonian grey-blue slate soils, which benefit from a unique microclimate that acts as a natural heat basin. Jörg's demanding philosophy, "Quality comes from torture," reflects the grueling manual labor required to farm these vertigo-inducing slopes. The 2024 vintage, despite being marked by challenging frosts and rain, yielded a wine of exceptional precision, vibrant energy, and deep mineral concentration.

## Interesting facts

- The estate's motto is 'Quality comes from torture,' highlighting the grueling manual labor required to farm slopes with up to a 75% gradient.
- Unlike many Mosel Rieslings aged in steel, this GG spends 10 months on full lees in 500-liter neutral oak barrels for a creamier texture.
- The Lieserer Niederberg-Helden vineyard forms a natural amphitheater, acting as a heat basin that protects the vines and optimizes ripening.

## Food pairing

This dry, high-acid Riesling benefits from dishes with rich textures or earthy components, such as mushrooms or game birds, which are balanced by the wine's vibrant acidity and mineral drive. The subtle creaminess from the lees aging allows it to stand up to roasted white meats and buttery sauces, while its intense slate-driven minerality cuts through the richness of aged hard cheeses.

## Wine making process

The grapes are harvested entirely by hand through a rigorous selective process on the steep slopes of the Niederberg-Helden vineyard. In the cellar, the juice undergoes spontaneous fermentation using only native, wild yeasts to preserve the authentic terroir expression. To build texture and complexity, the wine is aged for 10 months on the full lees (Vollhefe) in traditional, neutral 500-liter oak barrels (Tonneaux). This extended lees contact and large-format oak aging help soften the Riesling's high natural acidity, resulting in a dry white wine with a creamier, more integrated mouthfeel before bottling in the autumn of the year following harvest.