Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2013
£45.25
The wine
Gold in colour. An opulent nose of ripe citrus fruit and buttery aromas, balanced by acidity.
Côte de Léchet is a steep left-bank premier cru above Milly, long considered grand cru in all but name, and it gives one of the leanest and most mineral wines in the appellation. A 2013 released now has had over a decade in bottle to turn that austerity into the buttery, evolved character it shows here. Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix is one of the oldest families in Chablis and holds back its wines for years before release, which almost nobody else there does.
The producer
Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix
View all Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix winesDomaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix is one of Chablis' most distinctive estates, famous for releasing its wines only after long bottle age. Based in the town of Chablis, the family has farmed here for centuries. Its mature releases are unlike anything else in the appellation.
The domaine works Chardonnay across village and premier cru sites on the Kimmeridgian limestone that defines Chablis. Traditional, low-intervention winemaking with extended lees ageing builds texture and depth. The wines are then cellared for years before release.
This patience is the estate's signature: current releases are often a decade old, showing the honeyed, complex character that only age brings to Chablis. Beneath that maturity lies the racy, saline minerality of the appellation. Nothing is rushed.
From a mature Vieilles Vignes to aged premier crus like Les Lys and Vaillons, Defaix offers Chablis with the patina of time. Complex, saline and utterly individual, these are wines for lovers of mature white Burgundy.
