Heidi Schröck & Söhne, `Rusterberg` Burgenland Zweigelt

Heidi Schröck’s family have made wine in the village of Rust (Burgenland), just five miles from the Hungarian border, for more than 300 years. After taking over from her father in 1983, she has propelled this 10-hectare estate to modern acclaim. Heidi is a pioneering figure in Austrian winemaking, helping revive traditional varieties such as Furmint, once widely planted before the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She was also the first woman to qualify as a Master of Viticulture and Winemaking at the Weinbauschule Eisenstadt and Landwirtschaftskammer schools in Burgenland. Since founding the organisation “11 Women & Their Wines” in 2001, she has played a key role in promoting female winemakers in Austria, inspiring a generation of women to join the country’s wine trade.

Heidi’s southeast-facing vineyards lie along the western banks of Lake Neusiedl, on sandy soils with clay, gravel, grey quartz and schist. The sites form a natural semi-amphitheatre that enjoys significantly more sunlight hours than most of Austria. Here, she sustainably cultivates classic Austrian varieties, including Zweigelt, Furmint, Blaufränkisch and St Laurent. In 2019, she was joined by her twin sons, Johannes and Georg, who honed their craft in Bordeaux, New Zealand, Tuscany, and Switzerland. Together, they continue to make wines that do justice to their family heritage, while keeping their sights set firmly on the future.

Vibrant and juicy, the ‘Junge Löwen’ (‘young lions’) blends 85% Blaufränkisch and 15% St Laurent. Fermented in large old oak barrels, it displays raspberry and violet notes, a lovely vibrancy, and an elegant finish. The ‘Rusterberg’ Zweigelt hails from two vineyards on the Ruster Berg hills that surround Rust. It spends nine months in large Stockinger oak barrels, resulting in an elegant wine with silky tannins and notes of black cherries and hints of cocoa.

The ‘Riede Kulm’ Blaufränkisch hails from the estate’s oldest vineyard, planted by Heidi’s three great-aunts in 1955. It offers a benchmark example of Burgenland’s signature variety. With a small percentage of whole clusters used in the ferment, ‘Riede Kulm’ is brimming with red forest berries and black pepper notes. The Furmint is sourced from the ‘Turner’ vineyard on the Rust hills. Here, the soils are known as ‘Rust gravel’, a distinctive mix of crystalline rock, limestone, and sand. It undergoes skin maceration and spends nine months on its fine lees in large acacia casks, giving it a full texture and unique aromatic complexity.

Finally, the Beerenauslese blends predominantly Welschriesling and Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) with 20% Chardonnay from the vineyards closest to Lake Neusiedl. The lake reliably creates misty autumn conditions perfect for developing noble rot. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks and small acacia barrels lifts the aromas of ripe apple, tangerine and exotic mango. The wine’s 166 grammes per litre of residual sugar are balanced perfectly by a crisp acidity which carries the flavours through the long, silky finish.