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The WineBarn Completes a Record Five Figure Sale for Mosel's First TBA


The Mosel region's very first Trockenbeerenauslese has now changed hands for a five-figure sum. Bottled in 1921, this exceptional dessert wine is made from a dry berry selection. Iris Ellmann, Managing Director of The WineBarn, recently acquired the historical wine from Thanisch winery. Sourcing rare wine on behalf of collectors from across the globe, is just one aspect of The WineBarn’s highly personalised service.

Pictured left to right: Iris Ellmann, Managing Director The WineBarn and Estate Manager Maximilian F.W. Ferger, Gutsverwalter Weingut Witwe Dr. H. Thanisch Erben Müller-Burggraef.
Photo credits: ©PhilipKnoll

For nearly a century this epic milestone in German viticulture lied dormant in the treasury of the Estate Witwe Dr. H. Thanisch Erben Müller-Burggraef. After such time, the wine had to be re-corked and re-sealed in order to keep it preserved, before becoming part of a private collection.
The bottle has an extraordinary past. In 1921, the winery Witwe Dr. H. Thanisch made history by producing Trockenbeerenauslese for the first time in the Mosel region. The wine recorded an impressive 241° Oechsle - the highest must weight that was measured in the Mosel region until then. The German aristocracy were huge fans of the winery, as were the English royal family, and prestigious hotels such as the Savoy in London and the Ritz in Paris.
The reputation of this winery stretched far beyond Germany’s borders in as early as the 19th century. However, the prevailing inflation rate and the political turbulence of the Weimar Republic, meant that 1921 was not a suitable time for auctioning. Instead, the wine was safely stored in the treasury of the winery's historic “Doctor Cellar”, but it went missing for decades.
Thanisch winery's historic Doctor Cellar

Thanisch winery's historic Doctor Cellar

Post World War II, the region was occupied by the French military and the estate’s most valuable wines vanished. In the early 1960s however, a former employee of the winery remembered that a secret wall had built in order to hide the winery's finest treasures. The wall was brought down and a completely intact treasury was revealed along with the 1921 Trockenbeerenauslese. It had safely survived the war and occupation without damage.
Iris said, “I am extremely privileged to have been entrusted with this 99-year-old rarity. We take pride in dealing with the most historic and outstanding producers Germany has to offer.”
Thanisch’s Trockenbeerenauslese 1921

Thanisch’s Trockenbeerenauslese 1921


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