As I have been shoveling snow, which is normal at this time of the year in Michigan, I am thinking of some wines that we tasted and brought home from The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan; when the weather was pleasant. The first wine was Jean-Claude Berrouet (Famille Berrouet) “Herri Mina” Blanc Irouleguy 2020.  This winery is the most south-western part of France, in the Basque country and adjacent to the Basque in Spain.  Jean-Claude Berrouet is an Irouleguy native, who left home and worked for three decades as a winemaker at Chateau Petrus.  He went back home and purchased a four-and-a-half-hectare property in 1992, and named the estate “Herri Mina” which in Basque; herri means country and mina means homesick.  Irouleguy was awarded an AOC in 1970.  The estate is on rather a steep slope on the Pyrenees, and is planted with Gros Manseng, Petit Corbu, Petit Manseng, and a small plot of Cabernet Franc.  The region has been planted with vineyards for the last couple of thousand years. This wine is a blend of fifty-five percent Gros Manseng, forty percent Petit Courbu, and five percent Petit Manseng.  The soil of the region is sandstone and limestone. There is a rosé wine made in the region, but it is basically just for local consumption.  The grapes are manually harvested into small crates and sorted.  Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng are vinified together, while Petit Courbu is vinified separately.  The wine is aged on its lees, twenty-five percent in 300-liter barrels (new and used) and the balance in Stainless-Steel for about nine months.  The soft-straw colored wine had notes of tropical fruits, along with pears and green apples.  On the palate, a big full-bodied white wine with tones of mango and pears and tangy and bold acidity, that was very fresh and a good medium count finish of terroir.

Then we tried two wines from Matic Wines of Slovenia.  Matija (Matic) Zerjav is a wine maker who inherited the family business, and he is the third-generation farming in Styria.  The estate is a bit more that nine hectares on marl soil in the mountains, which causes the vines to dig deep in searching for water. He grows nine different varietals using organic, sustainable methods and native yeasts.  Matic Wines’ cellar was built in 1850, he doesn’t have a website, but he is found in a couple of different social media sites.  He has been experimenting with different ideas like orange wines in clay amphora, skin contact wines, some aged in Bourbon barrels. And some single vineyard whites; and perhaps some red wines in the future.

Slovenia is a region that is not readily recognized by most, and I would venture that the wines may even be lesser known.  Stajerska Slovenia (Styrian Slovenia) refers to the historic Duchy of Styria, a former crown land of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The region is just south of Austria and north of Croatia and accounts for about forty percent of the wine of Slovenia.  While wine making has been part of the history of the lands since 400 BC, it is home of the “The Old Vine” that is still producing fruit for over four-hundred-fifty-years and is recorded as a Guiness World Record, along with its own museum and national anthem.  The first wine was Matic Wines Pinot Gris Stajerska Slovenia 2022.  This soft-pink colored wine offered notes of pears, apples, stone-fruit, and some smoke.  On the palate there were tones of sweet fruits, bright acidity and a decent finish with some fruit and terroir.  The second wine was Matic Wines Sauvignon Stajerska Slovenia 2022.  This white wine had a slight green cast to it, and offered notes of muted gooseberry and white florals.  On the palate this wine was light bodied with good acidity and what is definitely called green and flinty, reminding one more of a Loire wine compared to a Bordeaux Blanc.  I found both wines to be very fresh and energetic as they were unfined and unfiltered which allowed for a more honest wine to be tasted, if that makes sense to you.