Schödl
About
In Central Europe, the Weinviertel is arguably the most ancient zone for not just viticulture, but agrarian activity in general—with 7,000 years’ worth of human artifacts found in the region, dozens of different, successive peoples and empires have been farming in (and fighting over) this land for a long time. It’s here, in this golden-and-green expanse, that we find a trio of smart and capable siblings, having established a new natural winery on a bit of heritage, family property, with vineyards clustered in the eastern village of Loidesthal: only 10 miles or so from the eastern border with Slovakia and just an hour’s drive from Vienna.
The geographic situation is sort of an optimal one for young people who might be interested, say, in both a vivified and changing culture of dining and drinking, available to explore in a city like Vienna over the last ten years, while still being nurtured in and raised around vines in a deeply agricultural area. That’s where the Schödls come in. Schödl Sr., these young producers’ father, has been a teacher of enology and viticulture for years, as well as a great lover of sparkling wine. That has very much influenced his three children, one of whom is Viktoria Schödl, who spent a good amount of time in Vienna and started seeing the vibrant, expansive movement for natural wine that had begun in other regions of Austria some ten or fifteen years earlier. Viktoria brought these new flavors and practices home to her brothers and dad saying: why couldn’t we do it this way, too?
It took a few years to convert the historical family parcels around Loidesthal to organic farming, starting in around 2016, and to begin to do the first natural experiments in the cellar. That year, Viktoria and Leonard joined their elder brother Matthias in managing the work of the family vineyards; in 2018, the first official releases from the Schödls’ new winery were issued. This set of 2023 releases marks a fifth official vintage from this dynamic trio, with the wines in general characterized by the unique impressions of the Weinviertel’s wind-swept continental climate, along with the Niederösterreich’s famous minerally “loess und lehm” soils.
In terms of the agriculture at the winery, all of the bottlings from the Schödls are taken from estate fruit; they currently farm 18 hectares fully in-house, meaning, as a family. 16ha are in production, two more still currently coming online as of this writing. Their annual production is around 70,000 bottles, and the winery is certified biodynamic by Respekt as of 2024. The Schödls share that their priorities for farming in the future are attempting to develop more a sense of agroforestry in their vineyards by adding traditional hedges and trees throughout their parcels; already for years they’ve kept a flock of “half-sized,” petite sheep in the vineyards for their natural fertilizer and easy, gentle mowing. In terms of treatments against disease pressure, they’re working with tisanes like chamomile against heat stress, and they sow cover crops in between rows.
For this release of 2023s, the Schödls share that it was a relatively balanced vintage in terms of weather, barring a notable three weeks of heat and drought during July, but with harvest rain arriving to balance everything out. Viktoria notes perhaps a touch of concentration this go-around in the wines, but that otherwise they are a representative suite of bottles. We’d point out that we think the sparkling wines in this release are especially beautiful, both the outstanding pét-nat—no sludgy afterthought of a wine, this, but rather chiseled, fresh, and fine—and the two new arrivals of the genuinely excellent traditional method sparklers, one white and one rosé. (Crémant lovers rejoice—these really rank up there with some greats.)
More broadly, we’ve been super pleased with all the Schödls’ releases over the last few years, with 2021 seeming like something of a breakout vintage to us. The hallmark of this young winery is emerging as being something genuinely northern, with a sense of sunlight in the wines, but also a coldness, lightness, and a fine, sheer layer of minerality and acidity always underpinning each bottling. If you are someone who likes to drink the more pretty natural wines of northern France, we’d point you in the Schödls’ direction: aromatic, sheer, and genuinely pleasureable to drink. Cheers to Matthias, Viktoria, and Leonhard for their fine work and the potential that remains for expressing a sense of light and beauty in their green home of the Weinviertel.
Products
Riesling Rote Erte
Organic w/biodynamic principles. Sourced from Schodl’s plot in the town of Blumenthal. Loess mixed with iron-rich sandstone soils. This makes the earth kind of red and so this Riesling is called “red soil” (rote erde in German). Grapes are harvested in mid-Oct. After destemming the berries have skin contact for a few hours to extract flavor from the skins. After gentle pressing, the juice went through fermentation in stainless steel tank with natural yeast at a temperature with 18°C. Aged on the fine lees until bottled in mid-Feb.
Grüner Veltliner Ried In Den Kreuthern
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. 60+ year old vines planted on chalky, limestone-rich loess soils. The age of the vines here produces very small, concentrated berries with incredible flavor and minerality. After harvest, the berries are destemmed and allowed to spend at least 12 hours on the skins to help extract the flavors of the skins. After gentle pressing, the juice is then racked to both large oak foudre (1000 liter) as well as concrete eggs. Spontaneous fermentation and ageing on the lees until the wine in bottled the following Sept. This is a stirring, elegant wine – proof that the Schödls can also do wines of refinement and ageworthiness, without losing their light hand and the freshness that have become the signature of the winery.
Grüner Veltliner Löss & Lehm
Biodynamic. 100% Grüner Veltliner from deep Löss and chalky clay soils near Loidesthal and Blumenthal. Grown on gently sloping hills and plateaus that offer the perfect interplay of ripeness and freshness, this entry level wine is anything but. The fruit was hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to stainless steel where it’s fermented with native yeasts. The wine rests in tank for 8 months on the fine lees, and is then bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small sulfur addition. A beautiful, bright bouquet of orchard fruits is followed by a crisp, mineral finish. The 2024 features longer lees aging than past iterations, and the wine shows more depth, while still maintaining an approachable every-day feel.
Grüner Veltliner Blumenthal
Certified Organic w/biodynamic principles. Sourced from Schodl’s plot in the town of Blumenthal. Loess mixed with sandstone soils. Grapes are harvested in mid-Oct. After destemming the berries have skin contact for a few hours to extract flavor from the skins. There is more skin contact here than w/ Löss & Lehm bottling and the yields are also lower on this bottling. After gentle pressing, the juice went through fermentation in stainless steel tank with natural yeast at a temperature with 18°C. Aged on the fine lees until bottled.
Gruner Veltliner 'In Natura'
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. 100% Grüner Veltliner. Deep loess and chalky clay soils are the base of what makes this Grüner tick: sourced from three of the family vineyards Blumenthal, In der Kreuthern, and Steinberg, the parcels blended here are a representation of all of the most important soil types and aspects across their vineyards. 10% fully skin-fermented, 90% grapes crushed and macerated for 24 hours. The wine is then fermented in a mix of concrete egg, clay amphora, and large format wood--both oak and acacia. The wine spends ten months on full lees before blending. Unfined/unfiltered, 10 mg/l SO2 at bottling. 'Grün Grün Grüner' is something of the Schödls' flagship wine, as it represents their personal preference how to display this famous variety in their home of Loidesthal, as well as it being a picture of all their vineyards.
Pet Nat 'In Natura'
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. 40% Grüner Veltliner, 20% Weissburgunder, 40% Red and White Riesling. All the fruit comes from the Schödls' estate vineyards In den Kreuthern and Blumenthal. The grapes are all harvested the same day, then are crushed and macerated for six hours, pressed into stainless steel, and put into bottle around 20 g/l RS. Aged for four-five months in bottle on lees, depending on disgorgement batch. Usually around 1-2 g/l RS in the completed pét-nat, but this isn't a sticky-sweet sparkler: it's lean, pretty, and deeply refreshing.
St. Laurent 'In Natura'
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. 100% Sankt Laurent taken from the single Schödl vineyard In den Kreuthern. 10% of fermentation was done whole cluster, 90% whole berry; it was fermented in a large neutral oak fermenter for about ten days. Afterward, the wine had 14 days of skin contact, then was pressed off into 300L oak barrels for seven months' worth of aging on lees. Unfined/unfiltered, 10 mg/l SO2 at bottling. The most delicious Sankt Laurent the Schödls have made yet: bright, medium weight, with a sense of weightlessness and complexity all at once. A fine argument for the caliber of this grape that's often overlooked as a red variety in northern Austria. Joyful stuff.
Gruner/Scheurebe Orange Wine 'Free Your Mind'
Biodynamic. Scheurebe (40%), Riesling (30%), Grüner Veltliner (20%), and Gelber Muskateller (10%) from Loidesthal and Blumenthal, grown on chalky Löss. The fruit is hand picked in September, co-fermented and macerated for 2 weeks in stainless steel. The wine is aged for 8 months in used 500 liter oak and acacia barrels, and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a 10 mg/l S02 addition. Past vintages have included only Scheurebe and Grüner, but in 2024 the Schödls added some Riesling, and a bit of Gelber Muskateller for lift and texture. Fresh, bright and aromatic, always limited, and one of our favorite macerated whites from Austria.
Fruhstuckswein (Skin Contact)
Biodynamic. Grüner Veltliner (30%), Welschriesling (30%), Weißburgunder (20%), Roter and Gelber Muskateller (20%). The Roter and Gelber Muskateller are macerated for 10 days to extract flavor and structure, and the rest of the fruit is direct pressed to maintain freshness and balance. The juice is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, large oak casks and 500 liter neutral barrels. The wine is aged for 7 months on the lees in these vessels, then blended and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a 15 mg/l sulfitage. Frühstückswein is a made up word that roughly translates to ‘breakfast wine.’ In our opinion, as affordable orange wines go; there isn’t a better value on the market. Exclusive to NY/NJ, and now available in 750ml.
Rose 'Supernova'
Biodynamic. Pinot Noir and Sankt Laurent grown on chalky löss in the Schödl’s top Pinot and Sankt Laurent vineyards in Kreuthern. The fruit is hand harvested and macerated for a few hours before pressing. Co-fermented with native yeasts in 500 liter neutral barrels, and aged in barrel on the lees for 8 months. The wine was bottled with no fining or filtration, and a 10 mg/l S02 addition. Always a riper, darker rose, the wine offers beautiful blood orange and herbs on the nose, and elegant, silky texture on the palate. High drinkability!
Roter Muskateller 'Bloody Muscat' (Skin Fermented)
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. 100% Roter Muskateller. The Roter is sourced entirely from the Schödl estate vineyard In den Kreuthern, on chalky loess soils. The grapes were fully skin-fermented in stainless steel for about 10 days, then pressed off into one 1300L oak cask for malolactic fermentation and seven months of élevage on full lees. (The barrel is pretty special for this wine: it's a fuder from 2012 made of local Weinviertel oak--the Schödl siblings' father’s 50th birthday cask.) Unfined/unfiltered, 10 mg/l SO2 at bottling. Pale fuschia in color, zesty, floral, pink peppercorn aromatics. The Schödls have done some harvests in South Africa, where their pals call everything 'bloody;' hence the name/wink toward Red Muskat.
Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. Our loved natural producer in the Weinviertel is well-known for their excellent, pristine pét-nat, but in reality the Schödl siblings actually learned the traditional method first, from their father who loves the style. This 100% Chardonnay represents one of their finest releases of traditional method sparkling since mastering more natural techniques, with 85% of the base/vintage wine aged in neutral barriques, and 15% of the reserve blend coming from a solera of older vintages. 20+ months on lees, hand-riddled and disgorged at the winery. Elegant, round on the palate, with a lot of nerve at the finish. Base vintage for the current release is 2022.
Rose Brut Nature
Certified Organic and Biodynamic. This is the Schödl family’s finest example of Brut Nature rosé traditional-method sparkling they’ve made yet. 100% Pinot Noir from two calcareous-loess plots; 85% of the base/vintage wine aged in neutral barriques, and 15% of the reserve blend coming from a solera of older vintages. 20+ months on lees, hand-riddled and disgorged at the winery. Notes of ripe, sweet raspberry fruit, wild strawberry, red apple, and a little caramelized shortbread. Very juicy and creamy on the palate, with a fine mineral finish. Gorgeous stuff for rosé Champagne heads.
