2011 Denis Jamain Reuilly Rose Chatillon

As attested to by a menu from the 1937 Exposition Internationale de Paris’s Berry-Nivernais Pavilion that Jamain unearthed (one which is otherwise entirely dominated by Sancerres and Pouillys, with a few Quincys), in the year of Reuilly’s birth as an (at that time solely Sauvignon) appellation, its name was in fact first and foremost associated with the category “vin gris” that is perpetuated in partridge eye- or coppery-colored wines like Jamain’s 2011 Reuilly Pinot Gris. (One could argue in favor of calling it rose, but that designation does not appear on its label.) The best Pinot Gris vineyards, Jamain notes, are not on the Kimmeridgian chalk that makes for this same appellation’s most memorable Sauvignons, but rather on quartz-rich gravel nearer the River Cher. Fresh citrus, yellow tomato and peach mingle with chalk and salt on a polished palate whose tactile stimulation puts me in mind of chewing peach fuzz. While full for its genre, and hinting at heat, this remains refreshing, an u ndertone of raw almond adding to the interest of its finish. 88 points