Dr Bürklin-Wolf

 The Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Estate has a tradition dating back to 1597, it is one of the largest and most important Estates in Germany.
The total vineyard area is 85 ha – a treasure trove of top-rated vineyard sites in the unique landscape of the Mittelhaardt – and it is here where we produce top-quality Riesling in harmony with nature. The Estate has always been considered to be a pioneer and trailblazer for change in German viticulture.

1580-1636 Bernhard Bürklin, the town clerk and later mayor of Wachenheim acquires extensive agricultural and viticultural holdings, and establishes the Bürklin family's viticultural tradition in Wachenheim. In the unsettled period of the Wars of Succession, the fortunes of the Bürklin family in Wachenheim are no longer traceable, it is only 200 years later that the name reappears in Karlsruhe-Durlach.

1777-1840 „Owner of outstanding vineyard sites in Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg“ writes a wine merchant of the time about Johann Ludwig Wolf, at the same time, he is one of the richest men in the Pfalz. On his death, the extensive agricultural properties, forests and the Grohé banking house in Neustadt are passed on to his 3 children.

In 1875, the granddaughter of Johann Ludwig Wolf, and heiress to most of his wealth and property, marries privy councillor Dr. Albert Bürklin from Karlsruhe-Durlach, laying the foundation for the winery’s current name, "Dr. Bürklin-Wolf". Dr. Albert Bürklin is vice-president of the German Reichstag (parliament) from 1884 to 1898, and from 1889 he is the director of the Baden Court Theatre in Karlsruhe. His palace in Karlsruhe is the focal point of cultural life in the royal seat. Following his marriage to Luise Wolf in 1875 he moved to Wachenheim, and expanded the Estate to become a model of quality wine production.

The great-nephew of the same name inherits the entire property in 1924, and continues along the same path. After World War II, the lawyer and “Ökonomierat” (title awarded for outstanding public service) is particularly active in rebuilding agriculture and viticulture in the Pfalz. His entrepreneurial foresight leads him along new paths in viticulture, helping the Estate to flourish once more. The philosophy of acquiring additional vineyards, systematically expanding the cellar facilities and marketing and distributing only top quality wines ensures the Estate makes great strides both nationally and internationally during the stewardship of Dr. Albert Bürklin.

In 1990, Bettina, Dr. Albert Bürklin's eldest daughter, took over the Estate from her parents, together with her husband Christian von Guradze. Their decision to classify the vineyard sites according to the Burgundian tradition, as well as their decision to convert the entire vineyard area to bio-dynamic production methods was a revolutionary move in German viticulture.

It is the totality of microclimate, soil structure and topography that together makes up the so-called terroir. This unique interaction of natural factors determines the growth of the vines, and gives the wine its unmistakable character. Great wines are reflections of the place where they have grown, their vineyard site, their terroir. The unique character of these wines is thus not a maximum of technical knowledge applied by the cellar master, nor of the highest possible sugar content in the grapes.

In central and southern Europe, wine producers have been working with their terroir for centuries. In great wine-producing countries such as France, wines produced from the best sites (Grands Crus and Premiers Crus) enjoy specific protection by law. And it is no coincidence that these sites are planted with specific grape varieties, which have shown over time that they will, in combination with the character of the terroir, produces the greatest wines.

This great precedent in history equates to our confidence in grading and rating our own terroir. As a result, we started in 1990 to classify our appellations according to our own strict criteria. Our classification is based on geological findings and climatological experience, and results in practically the same findings as those of the historical site evaluation carried out in the Kingdom of Bavaia in 1828.

 

It is our endeavour to represent the very individual characteristics of each top-rated site in the wines produced there. Taking this to the logical conclusion, we are not really producing primarily a Riesling, but a Kirchenstück or a Pechstein. Riesling just happens to be the perfect tool capable of expressing this terroir character.

Biodynamic viticultural principles place the highest demand on viticulture, and on the work performed in the vineyard. Instead of technology and chemistry, the wine grower is expected to apply specific and specialist knowledge, he requires intense experience in the vineyard, and must apply a high degree of intuition. Working the soil is done as carefully as possible, in some cases still using horses. Protecting the plants with natural preparations ensures the health of the vines, allowing them to develop the highest possible level of natural resistance. As wine producers we endeavour to establish a balance between the plant and its environment. This is most readily achieved where we encourage the own, internal strength of the plant. It is for this purpose that biodynamic preparations are used on our wine Estate.

The German wine law of 1971, which is currently in effect, creates the impression that every vineyard site is capable of producing any quality, provided the must weight is high enough. We have been convinced for a long time that a specific vineyard site is capable of producing a defined maximum quality. This is determined by many factors such as the soil and microclimate as well as the grape variety grown on that site. 

 

As early as 1828, the Kingdom of Bavaria carried out the royal Bavarian vineyard  classification of individual sites, using a similar system. It is not least because of the geographic similarity with the Côte-d'Or in Burgundy that we were inspired by both these systems in applying our own, estate-specific classification. Thus, Dr. Bürklin-Wolf started classifying the vineyards according to a clear structure in 1994. The maxim is that the terroir determines the quality.

Starting in 1990, we compiled a quality pyramid for our vineyards that is based both on the royal Bavarian classification of 1828 and on the Burgundian principle: Our G.C. wines can be considered to be the Grands Crus of the Mittelhaardt, they are outstanding solitaires of a rare terroir, truly great wine personalities that cannot be fully appreciated in a quick moment. The wines are fermented and matured exclusively in large oak vats, and are fermented using wild yeasts.

 

The P.C. classification should be seen as wines that would correspond to those from Premier Cru sites in Burgundy. These Riesling wines combine the characteristic traits of the region with the individual expression of the terroir in each case, in a most fascinating manner. The P.C. wines are also fermented in large oak vats using wild yeasts.

A step below this are the village Riesling wines – wines sourced from unclassified sections of our vineyard sites in Ruppertsberg and Wachenheim, and which display the characteristic aromas and taste of wines from these communes. The basic wine of our classification is the estate Riesling. It is a blend of Riesling sites in all four communes of the Mittelhaardt region in which the Estate has vineyard holdings. „We are doing all this not for our benefit today, but for the maintenance of this god-given natural resource, for our children and also for subsequent generations.“