Reuilly might have once been considered ‘poor man’s Sancerre’, but if the appellation was ever deserving of such pejorative connotation, it is certainly not so now. The vineyards here were wiped out by phylloxera in the late 1800s, but Denis Jamain’s maternal grandfather never lost faith in the potential of the terroir here to produce great wine, and he replanted the family estate in 1935, a sideline to his thriving forestry business. This passion has passed from grandfather to grandson, who has expanded the estate to over 17 hectares comprising Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and a little Pinot Gris.

The key to that terroir lies in the Kimmeridgian marl which forms the undercroft here, the same Jurassic limestone that makes Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Menetou-Salon and Chablis amongst the most graceful white wines produced in France, indeed the world. Jamain practices organic and biodynamic viticulture, raising the wines in stainless steel together with some limited work for the Pinot Noir in barrels made from oak grown in his own forest. The vineyards are entirely worked by hand and the grapes are hand-picked with traditional fermentation under natural yeasts. The elegantly labelled cuvée ‘Les Pierres Plates’ come from the biodynamically produced fruit of 20 years old vines on the best plot of Kimmeridgian limestone shale. It displays aromas of citrus and white flowers, and has a superb depth of flavour which clearly speaks of a relatively late harvest, balanced by a beautiful, precise minerality. I would defy any lover of fine Sancerre not to be beguiled by it.


DENIS JAMAIN Reuilly

Single

6+

2020  REUILLY Rosé ‘Les Chatillons’ Pinot Gris

        17.95

        16.95

2020  REUILLY ‘Les Pierres Plates’ Blanc

        18.95

        17.50

2020  REUILLY ‘Les Pierres Plates’ Rouge

18.95

17.95