Irouleguy Blanc Herri Mina 2020

Irouleguy Blanc with a very special flavor: Herri Mina is the project founded by Jean-Claude Berrouet, creator of the wines of the world-famous Chateau Petrus for over 40 years, and recipient in 2018 of the prestigious Winemakers' Winemaker Award, the recognition given annually by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Homesickness, that's precisely the translation from Basque of the winery's name, led him back to his homeland, the village of Itxassou in the French Basque Country, in the setting of a landscape suspended between ocean, mountains and sky.

Herri Mina Project's Irouleguy Blanc originates from the indigenous and absolutely typical white grapes of the French Sud Ouest, sourced from a slice of land abutting the Spanish border, in the immediate Atlantic hinterland in triangulation with the famous coastal resorts of Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Gros Manseng, Petit Corbu, Petit Manseng grow on the red sandstone slopes facing south and extending for about 2 hectares along the foothills of the Pyrenees range, farmed for more than a decade according to biodynamic principles. The oceanic influence is dominant here, while the foothills, rising up to 400 meters above sea level, offer protection from the colder northern currents. Harvesting begins when the grapes are fully ripe, capable of synthesizing high concentrations of sugars but retaining high levels of acids. The winemaking phases in the cellar are very simple: direct and gentle pressing, with brief contact on the skins and spontaneous fermentation by indigenous yeasts. Aging proceeds for about 9 months in steel tanks.

Herri Mina's Irouleguy Blanc presents itself to the eye with a soft, luminous golden hue. Fresh and sunny together, the nose is an intense blend of fruity and floral scents, from ripe melon to honeysuckle, with tropical notes of lychee and northern gooseberry pungency. The palate is powerful, rich with ripe, pulpy softness and mineral and saline verticality, a surprising balance between the density of honey and the tension of lingering freshness. A white to try with a worthy plateau of Atlantic shellfish.