Great Wines of the Contea for Peace

26 October, third auction of the monastery of Castagnevizza. Association of the Empress-queen Maria-Theresa cru classification’s knight.

Charles-Louis de Noüe found in Slovenia, in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the ideal terroir to create a new wine.

Very impressed by the beauty of this land, he took some crucial decisions: the marriage between the great Burgundian tradition and that of Collio Brda and also the liaison between Charles-Louis de Noüe, partner of Domaine Leflaive, and Alis Marinic of the Marinic de Brda family.

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This new enterprise takes place on a territory who marked the history of Europe, for centuries a theater of wars: the triangle between Austria, Slovenia and Italy. Now, wine becomes a symbol of peace.

Many French personalities have loved this land, from Elisa Baciochi, sister of Napoleon, to Charles the X, who is buried with the Count of Chambord in the monastery of Castagnevizza/Kostanjevica, to the Count Latour, who in 1850 brought French grape varieties to that county.

In 1787, the Empress Queen Maria Theresa of Austria published the first classification of the Grand Crus of the County. This classification was brought to light by the historian Stefano Cosma. Charles-Louis de Noüe, thanks to the discovery of the classification of the sovereign’s wines, is founder of the «Empress-Queen Maria-Theresa Cru Classification’s Knight Association».

For the first time since Maria-Theresa, we can taste and discover all the Crus from the old classification by the best winemakers of Collio, Brda, Isonzo, Vipava, Aquileia, Carso.

Charles-Louis de Noüe and Alis Marinic promote the auction of the Classification Crus in favor of the Monastery of Castagnevizza.

Maître Stéphane Aubert, Associate Director and Auctioneer of Artcurial, will lead the first auction of the Monastery of Castagnevizza / Kostanjevica, which will take place on 29 October 2022 in Nova Gorica, just one hour from Venice.

Sale of the Great Wines of the Contea for the Monastery of Castagnavizza.

The wine estates gave a 300-bottles barrel to the auction of the Great Wines of the Contea for Peace. The lucky winners will have the pleasure of receiving 300 bottles numbered from 1 to 300 with their name written on the back label.

The profits from this charity auction will go to the Monastery of Castagnavizza / Kostanjevica for the restoration of the Monastery chapel’s frescoes damaged by an earthquake. In the chapel of the monastery, Charles the X and the Count of Chambord are buried with other members of the French royal family.

Highlights from the 2022 event

AUCTION OF THE – ASSOCIATION OF KNIGHTS OF THE CRU CLASSIFICATION OF THE EMPRESS-QUEEN MARIA THERESA

-MONASTERY OF CASTAGNEVIZZA-

October 25 and 26, 2024

Histoire de la Contea

The princely county of Gorizia and Gradisca (German: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; Italian: Contea Principesca di Gorizia e Gradisca) formerly belonging to the Habsburg monarchy. Part of the Austrian Coast, is located on the present day at the border between Italy and Slovenia, stretching from the Adriatic coast to the eastern Alps, only an hour from Venice.

It is name from its two main cities, Gorizia (Goritz) and Gradisca d’Isonzo.

Présentation de la Classification des Crus

The Association of the Knights of the Cru Classification of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa aims to follow Maria Theresa of Austria’s design: to make internationally known this exceptional land included in the classification of the vintages of the Contea published in 1787. The Association pursues Maria Theresa’s plan for their development. In Gorizia, in 17 March 1787, a circular was issued by the «Commission Caesarea Regia Superiore for the regulation of contributions», containing the «Classification of the wines produced in the united principalities of the county of Gorizia and Gradisca with regard to their goodness».

Criteria of acceptance

1

The Cru is made from grapes belonging to the County Classification published by the Caesarea Regia Superiore Commission for the regulation of contributions, following the design of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa of Austria.

2

A Cru is produced from a single variety (100%) and from a single barrel. Only the best local varieties are selected: Chardonnay, Ribolla Gialla, Friulano-Jakot, Malavsia d’Istria for the white and Pinot noir, Refosco, Merlot for the red.

3

A wine from a vineyard cultivated with traditional methods, without chemicals that are harmful to the environment, with sulphur and copper, in organic and biodynamic methods, to respect the land and the people who work there. A quality yield with a maximum of 60 hl/Ha.

4

The Cru was aged for 12 months in barrels and 6 months in vats.

5

The Cru comes from a single plot and belongs to one of the villages in the Maria Theresa’s Crus Classification.

6

The barrel of this Cru will be bottled in 300 Burgundy bottles. The producer donates a barrel of his Cru to the auction of the Monastery of Castagnevizza (Kostanjevica) for the chapel’s frescoes restoration.

7

The name of the Cru is written on the label of the wine (the parcel’s name of the Cru is written on wine’s label (the parcel of origin)), the Italian name of the village following the original Empress-Queen Maria Theresa’s Cru Classification, for example: X, San Floriano I Cru or X, San Martino I Cru (and not Smartno, as today to be faithful to the Classification of the Crus of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa).

Les Crus et la contea

The French love for the Collio di Gorizia and its wines has ancient roots, from the times it was united with Goriska Brda. Perhaps it comes from the desire to unite two territories, as Lodovico Bertoli did in 1747, stating in his book «The vineyard and the wine of Burgundy in Friuli» that the Pinot noir is none other than the Refosco.

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In 1881, the Portuguese consul even wrote that the sparkling wine Prosecco from the Trieste coast «has many analogies with the wine of Champagne»! But it was with the French Revolution that the first exiles arrived, such as Albert-François de Moré, Count of Pontgibaud, who in 1791 settled in Trieste under the pseudonym of Giuseppe Labrosse, and then acquired vast agricultural properties in the Contea, near Ronchi. It was Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Baciocchi, who owned an estate in Villa Vicentina, where wine is still produced, and in Canale (today Kanal in Slovenia) near Gorizia. This estate later was bought by the Duke de Blacas d’Aulps (1771-1839), a gentleman of Charles X chamber, who arrived in Gorizia in 1836 and is buried with him in the convent of Castagnavizza: the so-called «Saint-Denis of the exile», also today in Slovenia. His son, Louis de Blacas, also owned a winery in Castel San Mauro, in the Oslavia Valley, for decades, with vineyards overlooking the Isonzo. Certainly the best known and most quoted French winemaker transplanted to Collio is Count Teodoro La Tour en Voivre, who in 1868 married Elvina Ritter de Zahony de Gorizia and built what we call the «Villa Russiz». He was the one who brought French grape varieties to the Contea and received numerous awards, diplomas and medals for his wines. In 1888, at a trade fair, he gave tastings of Riesling, Traminer, Franconia, red Burgundy, red Bordeaux and Carmenet. Today it is viscount Charles-Louis de Noüe who has fallen in love with Goriska Brda to produce wines with Alis Marinic in the beautiful village of Vedrijan, a place that has been listed as one of the best for its viticulture since 1787, not far from Dobrovo Castle, which in 1880 labelled its bottles as Château Dobra (Dobrovo Castle).

2024 auction wines

Trebes

Lucini. II C.
100% Ribolla Gialla 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Ribolla is the oldest variety of Collio; it is yellow in colour with golden hues, has good aromas of wild flowers, rennet apples and spicy notes, and is mineral, very typical and savoury on the palate.

Silva Spissa

Spess. II C.
100% Pinot Nero 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Pinot noir has been produced in Spessa since the beginning of the 20th century; deep ruby in colour, it has notes of small red fruits on the nose, while on the palate it is still young, but evolving, elegant, with a finish of raspberry and warm spices.

Križno

Cerou Superiore I Cru Classificazione
100% Chardonnay 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Intense yellow with golden hues, it smells of apple, pear and peach, with a full, elegant flavour and balanced acidity.

Kraška brajda

Cosana I Cru Classificazione
100% Merlot 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

It is ruby red in colour, taking on an amber hue with age. The characteristic aroma of cherries, blackberries and mulberries gives Merlot from the Goriška brda region its distinctive character. It has a rich and fruity taste with very balanced tannins.

Sojnik

Cer. Super. I C.
100% Friulano 2021
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

The nose is fine and intense with notes of almond, apple and wild flowers. In the mouth, it is dry, warm and soft, supported by a nice acidity and sapidity. The suggestions are mineral, with a very pleasant note of bitter almond, and spicy and balsamic notes at the end.

Breg

Medana I Cru Classificazione
100% Merlot 2021
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

A variety that found a favourable environment in Collio/Brda as far back as the 19th century: deep purple in colour, it is fruity on the nose, soft, almost sweetish in the mouth, still young, with the gentle tannins that appeal.

Opoka

Medana I Cru Classificazione
100% Sauvignon Vert / Friulano / Jakot 2020
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

From the Friulian Tocai grape variety, it is striking for its golden colour, the nose is reminiscent of apricot and white tea, the palate has amazing almond notes: excellent.

Zahodnje

Nebola II Cru Classificazione
100% Chardonnay 2021
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

A beautiful deep colour, slightly macerated, passed in wood, it has a delicate peach scent, in the mouth it is dry with moderate acidity, excellent with a long finish, with personality.

Elvine

Aquill. V C.
100% Chardonnay 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Straw yellow in colour, the nose has floral, white peach, bread crust and vanilla aromas, the palate is fresh, savoury and very good.

Vineis

Alban. II C.
100% Friulano 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Obtained from Tocai friulano, it smells of orange peel, excellent, fresh, slightly sweetish, with hints of crunchy fruit.

Poncaia

Corm. I C.
100% Merlot 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Intense, deep colour with garnet hues. It is a wine that, thanks to its ageing in barriques, has gentleness and power, with a sensation of fruit and spicy tones. Broad, velvety and enveloping on the palate, it maintains a long persistence. An important wine, destined for ageing.

Theodoro

Russ. Infer. II C.
100% Merlot 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Merlot was brought to Collio by the founder Theodoro de la Tour. It has a ruby red colour, a slightly herbaceous aroma and flavour, with tobacco notes, a complex and soft structure, and great balance. It refines considerably over time.

Resarje

Prebacina III Cru Classificazione
100% Merlot 2020
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Pure, beautiful red colour, full density. Delicate, hidden, fairly intense and persistent aroma, quite rich, spices and wood, morello cherry, black cherries, lightly toasted oak, nutmeg, green coffee beans, traces of old leather, background of delicate herbaceous and balsamic hints.

Anfiteatro

Quisca I Cru Classificazione
100% Merlot 2020
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

An excellent Mrlot that has been macerated for a month and matured in tonneau, with a herbaceous bouquet, soft and elegant in the mouth.

Tejca

Vedrignano II Cru Classificazione
100% Chardonnay 2021
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

The scent of geranium emerges, hints of celery and citrus fruits, in the mouth balanced, persistent, with excellent acidity.

Bilje

San Pietro III Cru Classificazione
100% Merlot 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

Soft, balanced, herbaceous.

Grad

Quisca I Cru Classificazione
100% Chardonnay 2022
300 bottiglie –
Importo a base d’asta € 3.000,00

A distinctive, perfumed wine that stands out, from enthusiasts…

Opera

Marco Nereo Rotelli
Stima 6.000,00 € / 7.000,00 €

The work continues the large-scale ‘Save the Poetry’ project that was realised and exhibited at the ‘espace culturel Louis vuitton’ as part of the ‘silent writing’ project. These are the small 20×20 canvases in which the artist communicates messages about respect for life. In this work, he defines the virtuous dimension of good food and wine as care for the individual.

Biography

2022 catalog

2023 catalog

F.A.Q

HOW CAN I BID?

For the Great Wines of Contea for Peace auction, the Contea wineries have donated seventeen different wines, each in a 300-bottle barrel.

You can bid either for 12 bottles, 48 bottles, 90 bottles, 150 bottles or you can bid for the whole barrel, which equals 300 bottles. During the auction, the highest bids for each batch are added together. If this sum is exceeded by bids for the whole barrel, it will be auctioned off as a whole.

Please reserve your personal attendance at the auction before 23rd October to the secretariat.

It is possible to place a purchase order with your maximum bid online on www.dorotheum/contea-wines, per telephone +39 (0)481 28 10 93, +39 328 403 4079 or per email info@contea.wine before the auction on 26 October 2024.

If you wish to be called during the sale, please contact the secretariat. An employee of the Association will call you at the time of the sale.

Association of the Knights of the Classification of the Cru of the Empress-Queen Maria Theresa e-mail info@contea.wine telephone +39 (0)481 28 10 93, +39 328 403 4079.
WHERE DOES THE SALES TAKE PLACE?

Saturday 26 October
Franciscan Monastery of Kostanjevica
Skrabceva ulica 1
5000 Nova Gorica- Slovenia
Tel +39 (0)481 28 10 93,
+39 328 403 4079
CAN I SEE AND TASTE THE LOTS BEFORE THE SALE?

The lots will be displayed in casks in the cellar of the Kostanjevica Monastery on Friday 25 October from 14.00 to 16.00 for professionals and from 16.00 to 18.00 for public.

Each barrel corresponds to a batch of 300 bottles.

The secretary of the Association of the Knights of the Classification of the Crus of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa will answer at you questions about the lots, Marina Stojanovic info@contea. wine.

Each lot is presented in a photo in the online catalogue at contea.wine.
SALES COSTS IN ADDITION TO THE AUCTION?

The auction does not have sale fees, given the charitable nature of the sale.
HOW DO I PAY MY PURCHASES?
- By bank transfer in Euros to the account of the Secretary of Empress- Queen Maria Theresa Cru Classification’s
Knight Association:
Kulturno drustvo vitezev Cru
Klasifikacije wine vladarice kraljice
Marije Terezije
Prvomajska ulica 12
5000 Nova Gorica-Slovenia
Mast. St: 2704501000
D.st: SI57372233

Banka Sparkasse D.D.
IBAN: SI56 3400 0102 2516 649
BIC: KSPKSI22 XXX
- By credit card Visa, MasterCard, American Express
- In cash up to €15,000 including tax on presentation of their identity papers.
- By bank check on presentation of a valid identity document. The issuance of purchases will take place 20 working days after cashing the check.
HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF MY PURCHASE?

The delivery of the lots will take place from November 21st, upon presentation of the paid invoice.
HOW CAN MY PURCHASE BE DELIVERED?

Transport costs are the responsibility of the purchaser. The association can provide you with an estimate on simple request from the secretariat of the Association at the address info@contea.wine.

We establish quotes subject to the legal possibilities of our partner carriers. Some countries are subject to customs restrictions for the import of wines and spirits.
CAN I HAVE MY PURCHASE COLLECTED BY A THIRD PARTY?

This is possible, please inform the secretariat of the Association by means of a written request in the form of a power of attorney. The person or carrier with power of attorney must present their identity document or passport when picking up the lot.
WHO CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AUCTION?

The Association’s secretariat team:
Secretary of Empress-Queen Maria Theresa Cru Classification’s Knight Association
Via Morelli, 6 – Gorizia, Italy.
+39 (0)481 28 10 93
+39 328 403 4079
info@contea.wine