Screwcap. Unusually for a Petit Chablis, which generally comes from the lower-lying sites on Portlandian limestone, the lion’s share of this cuvée is drawn from a parcel of Kimmeridgian-based soil. Yet it’s not necessarily the type of limestone but more the location that makes the difference. The small Defaix parcel is well situated on the slopes above Milly and Vaillons, a cool site that comes into its own in warmer vintages. In recent years, two small parcels in Poinchy and Beines have been added to the roster to flesh out some volume. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and raised in glass-lined tank, it’s a lovely vintage for this wine: nicely supple yet mouthwateringly bright with pulpy apple blossom, pear fruit and dashes of lime on the vibrantly sappy finish.

Screwcap. Defaix’s impressive village Chablis is drawn from four parcels of mature, 30-plus-year-old vines situated around Milly and Poinchy on the left bank of the Serein River. The wine ferments spontaneously and ages on fine lees for 10 months in glass-lined tanks. Compared to the estate’s Petit Chablis, the older vines translate to more character, depth and classical restraint. As always, this is a very fine Chablis. The nose shows beautiful candied lemon, cool white peach and floral notes. Then, it’s terrifically vibrant in the mouth, with juicy fruit, ripe acidity and a generous lick of oyster shell to close. Lovely wine! A terrific, seductive Chablis and another outstanding-value wine from Domaine Bernard Defaix.

Diam. Much like the rest of Burgundy, Chablis’ finest vineyards have, for better or worse, become synonymous with a symbolic grower. This is the case with Côte de Léchet and Domaine Bernard Defaix. With nine hectares of vines overlooking the village of Milly, the domaine is the largest single holder within this 1er Cru, and its cellars sit at the base of the Léchet hill. Didier Defaix is, therefore, the vineyard’s emblematic vigneron—as well as the site’s only certified-organic grower.

Perfectly exposed to the southeast, Jasper Morris MW describes an archetypal wine from Léchet as “entirely white fruited in style …not dissimilar to Beauroy, but with more intensity”, while Andrew Jefford suggests the hill gives “some of the most 'mineral' Chablis of all”. In 2023, you get the best of both worlds, alongside chiselled, chalky texture and an extra spoonful of fruit sweetness compared to a classical vintage. Taking advantage of the vineyard’s intensity and to build complexity, Didier Defaix ferments a quarter of this wine in old, neutral barrels which previously housed Defaix’s old-vine Reserve Léchet bottling.

Diam. Much like the rest of Burgundy, Chablis’ finest vineyards have, for better or worse, become synonymous with a symbolic grower. This is the case with Côte de Léchet and Domaine Bernard Defaix. With nine hectares of vines overlooking the village of Milly, the domaine is the largest single holder within this 1er Cru, and its cellars sit at the base of the Léchet hill. Didier Defaix is, therefore, the vineyard’s emblematic vigneron—as well as the site’s only certified-organic grower.

Perfectly exposed to the southeast, Jasper Morris MW describes an archetypal wine from Léchet as “entirely white fruited in style …not dissimilar to Beauroy, but with more intensity”, while Andrew Jefford suggests the hill gives “some of the most 'mineral' Chablis of all”. In 2023, you get the best of both worlds, alongside chiselled, chalky texture and an extra spoonful of fruit sweetness compared to a classical vintage. Taking advantage of the vineyard’s intensity and to build complexity, Didier Defaix ferments a quarter of this wine in old, neutral barrels which previously housed Defaix’s old-vine Reserve Léchet bottling.

Diam. On the opposite flank of the Valvan valley to Les Vaillons, and with a deep soil of bleu d'argile (blue clay) yet still with plenty of limestone, Montmains is commonly cited as producing 'textbook' Chablis of minerality and verve. Defaix’s wine is sourced from a parcel of 35-year-old vines in the eponymous section of Montmains, a cool terroir close to the Serein River—a site that lends this wine its cool, mineral backbone. Raised in old oak barrels for 12 months, Defaix’s first bottling from this vineyard is a vibrant, fleshy Chablis with yellow plums and tangy grapefruit entwined with chalk and struck match notes before a lasting finish tinged with dark stone minerality.

Diam. Rully’s Les Cloux vineyard is located just south of the village, with south-easterly exposure on the sirloin cut of Rully 1er Cru overlooking the plain of Saône. Les Cloux is home to Defaix’s oldest vines, planted in 1944 on the classic clay/limestone mix found across the best sites in Burgundy. Since 2009, these old vines have been managed organically. Within Rully, Les Cloux is known for its ability to balance elegant and mouthwatering flesh with tangy grip and fine length, and 2023 delivers in spades. This 100% Chardonnay fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in older barrels (up to seven years old) for 12 months before settling in stainless steel.

Diam. Alongside the 1er Cru Côte de Léchet proper, Defaix also bottles this selection from a single hectare of almost 70-year-old vines on the mid-slope. The idea is to showcase the old vines’ ability to produce a more layered, hedonistic, seductive wine than the standard Côte de Léchet cuvée. Half the wine matures in tank, the other half in wood—mainly 228-litre used Burgundian pièces from Jaeger-Defaix in Rully. The wine rests for 12 months on fine lees with regular bâtonnage before being blended with the stainless-steel component. The final wine is bottled 18 months after harvest. On the palate, you immediately feel the impact of the old-vine concentration, which, combined with the lees aging, creates something altogether more saturating—more ‘Côte d’Or’ if you like—than the regular 1er Cru. Super value in today’s market.

Diam. Clos du Chapître is a one-hectare monopole behind the family house and cellars within the Rully 1er Cru Chapître, enclosed by a two-metre-high stone wall. The Pinot yields here are controlled by severe pruning, disbudding and green harvesting. There is also manual sorting of bunches to keep only the most beautiful clusters of fruit. This year, the wine aged in oak barrels (10% new) for 12 months before settling in tank before bottling.

Jancis Robinson MW has written that the wines from this site “offer proof that the Côte Chalonnaise can now field wines of serious interest to those raised on Côte d’Or wines”. As always, Clos du Chapître delivers the expected step up from the village Rully in depth, structure and complexity, yet there’s no lack of juicy brightness courtesy of this utterly charming vintage.

Diam. Unlike Côte de Léchet, Defaix’s Monty is made from purchased fruit. Didier Defaix tells us he has worked with the same grower for 20 years. Although the vineyards are not organically certified, the family “works like us” (that is to say, he’s very happy with the quality). The Montée de Tonnerre is drawn from old vines in Chapelot, which forms 20 hectares of the vineyard on a similar southeast-facing aspect to the neighbouring Grands Crus. The vineyard’s iconic grower is, of course, Raveneau, although Moreau-Naudet, Billaud-Simon and others farm vines in this prestigious lieu-dit. This cuvée ferments with native yeasts entirely in used barrels (one to five years old) with regular bâtonnage. The wine is bottled after 12 months in barrel and a further six months in stainless steel. It’s a great release, full of mouthcoating, zingy fruit and stony energy.