Denis Jamain
Right next-door to the very impressive Claude Lafond facility in Reuilly sits the rather less imposing Chai de Reuilly. The Lafond winery looks just the part, with a wood-clad exterior finished off with Claude’s name written in a scripted font, with letters that must be at least two metres high. The Chai de Reuilly, meanwhile, has a much more simplistic and functional appearance to it. But the appearance of a winery is no more a guide to the quality of a wine than the design of the label of course, and there are delightful expressions of Reuilly to be found coming out of this warehouse-like edifice.
The Chai de Reuilly is in fact a shared winemaking facility, and one of several names working out of it is Denis Jamain. Denis just happens to own one of the largest domaines in Reuilly, second in size only to that of the aforementioned Claude Lafond, unless I am mistaken. And, perhaps more importantly, he happens to turn out a range of wines that have earned him, over the years, a reputation as one of the appellation’s stalwarts, a dependable destination in the hunt for wine of interest and quality. He is also, I should say, a charming character to boot, which of course only makes it easier to enjoy his wines.
This profile looks at Denis Jamain’s career as a vigneron, this being – to my eternal surprise – an activity he came to later in life than most, at his philosophies in the vineyard, and of course at his wines.
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