With his long hair, orange handkerchief and blue suede shoes Charles-Louis de Noüe is every Englishman’s idea of the perfect French fop. It’s not much of a leap of the imagination to picture him with a powdered wig in the court of Louis XVI or perhaps taunting Graham Chapman in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Charles-Louis was in London to present wines from Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič. He comes from winemaking royalty – the nephew of Anne Claude Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive– but his new venture isn’t in Burgundy. It’s not even in France. It’s in Slovenia.
The domaine is a partnership with local winemaker Alis Marinič. The wines come from a region called Goriska Brda - Goriska Hills - which lies just a couple of miles from the Italian border, 40 miles from Trieste, 70 miles from Venice and 250 miles south of Vienna.
The area has had a fascinating if rather complicated modern history. As Charles-Louis put it “you could have four passports without leaving your bed.” For a long time it was part of the Habsburg Empire but, after the defeat of Austria in the First World War, it passed into the hands of Italy. The nearby mountains still bear the scars of the bloody 1917 battle of Caporetto. After the Second World War the region fell just inside the Yugoslav border and became part of an independent Slovenia in 1991.
Charles-Louis took a great delight in explaining all this even if it wasn’t always easy to follow his stories. Apparently, the Greeks brought viticulture to the region and it was famous for its wines during Roman times. More recently the wines were much prized in the court of Maria Theresa who ruled the unwieldy empire from 1740 until 1780. There’s long been a French connection too: Napoleon’s sister Caroline Bonaparte had a wine estate here.
The region’s reputation dimmed in the 20th century and quality wines died out during communist times. Though, according to Charles-Louis, Tito’s backward regime meant that intensive viticulture never took off on the Slovenian side of the border. In contrast “Veneto was making industrial wines: negociant quality, not top, top quality,” he explained.
Working with a Burgundian consultant Anthony Cholas, Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič was founded in 2019 with the aim to revive fine wine in the region. They took over vineyards that had largely been abandoned but at one time “it was the best place in the empire to make wine.” Charles-Louis has found documents in Italian from imperial days outlining the various crus which now feature on his bottlings.
The terroir is perfect for Chardonnay: “I want to make good wine like Burgundy from Chardonnay, Mosel for Riesling and Sancerre for Sauvignon.” The vineyards are on the same latitude as Lyons, and Chardonnay has been here since at least the 19th century. The region has never had phylloxera so the vines are growing on their own rootstocks and they can be propagated by massal selection. Consequently, there are unique clones that are well-adapted to the region.
The soils are a mixture of limestone, like in Burgundy, with some clay. The ground is very soft and so the roots can penetrate deeply. Overall, Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič has 140 hectares devoted to grape growing. The vines get a warming effect from the Mediterranean and cooling from the Alps. There’s also a drying wind called the Brora - car fans of a certain vintage will associate this with a mid-engined Maserati - which helps prevent fungal infections. There’s no need for irrigation. Currently they are working to convert to biodynamics.
Brothers in arms: Charles-Louis de Noüe and Alis Marinič (l-r)
The wines are all made with natural yeasts and most are barrel fermented too. The flagship wines are the cru Chardonnays from Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič sold with very Burgundian looking packaging. But it’s not all about Chardonnay. They also work with some local varieties under two cheaper brands. There’s Érigone which features a Refosco, a light-coloured crunchy red and Jakot, a Slovenian name aka Sauvignon Vert aka Tocai Friulano. As I said, it can get complicated round here with German, Italian, Slovenian and French languages all rubbing up against each other. No wonder Simon Winder in his book Danubia refers to the area as ‘a sort of linguistic mudslide.’
Finally, there’s some superb entry level wines under the Marinič label, Ribolla Gialla and Malvasia d’Istria. The quality is high across the board with the Chardonnays being Cote d’Or quality. What really impressed me, however, is the effort and quality that goes into the cheaper wines. The Ribolla Gialla is like their answer to Aligote, quite neutral fruit but intense and textured, while the Malvasia is ripe and heady like a good Viognier.
Brett Fleming from Armit who has just taken the domaine on commented: “We get inundated with requests, 95% are wrong for us. I was dubious but such was the inherent quality it was a no brainer. They offer value even at the top end.”
At the tasting I attended, the sommelier crowd seemed very impressed too. These are gastronomic wines with a real sense of place. With wines this good and Charles-Louis as the dandy ambassador, we’re likely to see Domaine Vicomte de NoüeᚐMarinič wines in all the best restaurants.
Domaine Vicomte de NoüeᚐMarinič Ribolla Gialla Marinic 2021
RRP: £18
Lemony fresh nose, saline nose. While the palate is prickly and peppery. It’s quite neutral but with no shortage of zing and intensity and a moriesh texture. Imagine this with oysters!
Érigone Jakot Anne Jakot Superiore 1er Cru 2020
RRP: £24
Jakot is a local synonym for Sauvignon Vert. Aromatic nose, peach, smells really ripe and fresh. Take a sip and the acidity is firm and mineral with ripe white peach and a creamy finish. Proper top Sancerre quality here. I think it needs time to show its best
Domaine Vicomte de NoüeᚐMarinič Chardonnay Tejca Vedrignano II Cru 2020
RRP £64
Barrel-fermented, aged one year in cask and one in stainless steel. Fresh apple nose with sweeter notes of coffee and spice. Lovely acidity, green apple, crunchy zingy fruit and then very, very long with toasted oats and hazelnuts. My favourite of the Chardonnays.
Domaine Vicomte de Noüe-Marinič Chardonnay Sotto La Chiesa Bigliano II Cru 2021
RRP: £64
Barrel-fermented, aged one year in cask and one in stainless steel. Hazelnut and ripe peach on the nose. Lovely freshness, long and creamy with more hazelnuts on the finish.
The wines of Domaine Vicomte de NoüeᚐMarinič are imported and sold in the UK through Armit Wines which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
