Acclaimed winemaker, Jean-Claude Berrouet, formerly of Château Pétrus follows local tradition by naming his wine in the Basque language, Herri meaning country and Mina meaning homesick. This nostalgia has influenced his use of indigenous grapes, making this bold, full bodied white. It’s rich, dry and abounds with minerals making it a great match with cassoulet. Don’t over chill and a decanting couldn’t hurt.
Deep in an area renowned for its independent and strong ancestral culture, the Basque Country is in the southwestern-most part of France, just half an hour from Spain. Here, Irouléguy received its appellation contrôlée in 1970, with about 250 acres of vineyards cultivated by 60 growers.Jean-Claude Berrouet is an Irouléguy native who left home to serve for more than three decades as the winemaker at Château Pétrus. But the Basque region has a powerful pull, and Jean-Claude eventually returned home to his native soil. Appropriately, he named his estate “Herri Mina”; in Basque, herri means “country,” and mina means “homesick.”
Gros Manseng – Petit Manseng – Petit Courbu is a fairly common white wine blend in the South West region of France. It combines both Manseng grape varieties (Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng) with the lesser-known Petit Courbu. These wines have good acidity and can display honeysuckle, citrus and green-apple aromas. On the palate flavors tend toward weightier fruit such as mango and baked pears, giving the wines an added textural dimension, mainly due to the thick-skinned Petit Manseng.