Diam. Certified organic. 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 the Côte de Léchet, in Milly, and Domaine Bernard Defaix. The domaine is the largest 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 (and the site’s only certified organic grower).
Alongside the 1er Cru Côte de Léchet proper, Defaix also bottles this selection, sourced from a single hectare of almost 70-year-old vines on the mid-slope of the Côte. The idea with this release is to showcase the old vine’s ability to produce a more layered, hedonistic and seductive wine than the standard Côte de Léchet cuvée.
Half of the wine is matured in tank and the other half in wood—mainly 228-litre, used Burgundian piéces from Jaeger-Defaix in Rully. The wine rests for 12 months on fine lees with regular bâttonage 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, has created something altogether more layered—more ‘Côte d’Or’ if you like—than the regular 1er Cru.