Schödl 'In Natura' Grüner Veltliner Weinviertel 2022

If you were to drive just an hour from Vienna - 10 miles or so from the eastern border of Slovakia - you will find the picturesque village of Loidesthal in the Weinviertel. Here, amongst a cluster of naturally tended vines, you may find three siblings, Leo, Viktoria, and Matthias Schödl. Their father has been a teacher of enology and viticulture for years, greatly influencing the siblings, particularly Viktoria who had spent a good amount of time in Vienna, becoming inspired by the natural wine movement that had begun in other areas of Austria years prior. Starting in 2016, the siblings began managing the work of the family vineyards, converting the historical family parcels to organic farming and beginning the first natural experiments in the cellar. In 2018, the first official releases from the Schödl’s new winery were issued. Sourced from three of the vineyards, this grüner veltliner hails from deep loess and chalky soils, the ideal setting for this grape to shimmer. 10% fully skin-fermented, 90% of grapes are crushed and macerated for 24 hours. The wine was then fermented in a mix of concrete egg, clay amphora, and large format wood, both oak and acacia. Before blending, the wine spent 10 months on full lees. Unfined and unfiltered, the nose is pure in its expression of crushed green apple, white Smarties, and fresh green herbs. The palate is equally precise, offering spiciness and lush fruit cleansed by refreshingly mineral acidity. Certified organic, biodynamically grown, low-intervention/natural wine, vegan.