2021 Domaine Jaeger Defaix Rully Rouge 1er Cru Clos du Chapître

You get scents of market-fresh raspberry and cherry on the nose, dusted with peppery spice and a hint of quality oak. The palate is sculpted and pure with more red berry vibrancy wrapped up in attractive texture before a balanced and lingering cherry stone finale. It’s hard to say how this will age, but it will hit its straps in 2026. That said, with the right food, it is utterly charming from the get-go.

Diam. The Clos du Chapître is a monopole vineyard for this producer. The one-hectare plot is located behind the family house and cellars within the Rully 1er Cru Chapître, enclosed by a two-meter-high stone wall. The Pinot yields here are controlled by severe pruning, de-budding and green harvesting. There is also manual sorting of bunches to keep only the most beautiful clusters of fruit. This year, only 15% of the ripest whole bunches were retained, and the wine was aged in oak barrels (50% new) for 15 months 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, the Clos du Chapître delivers the expected step up from the village Rully in depth, structure and complexity, yet there’s no lack of levity and brightness. The Clos du Chapître was not frosted in 2021 and it shows in the resulting volume of this wine. It’s so Pinot. You get scents of market-fresh raspberry and cherry on the nose, dusted with peppery spice and a hint of quality oak. The palate is sculpted and pure with more red berry vibrancy wrapped up in attractive texture before a balanced and lingering cherry stone finale. It’s hard to say how this will age, but it will hit its straps in 2026. That said, with the right food, it is utterly charming from the get-go.

Domaine Jaeger Defaix
While it’s an inevitable truth that certain appellations are more fashionable than others, it is equally true that the elite wines, from great producers, from Burgundy’s less-heralded satellite regions, have all the attributes to outclass many of the loftier names of the Côte d’Or.

Rully is, in our opinion, the finest commune of the Côte Chalonnaise. The vineyards lie just a short drive, minutes from Beaune, and share a similar aspect and soil type with some of the most famous Côte de Beaune appellations. Yet here, on the fringes of what Eric Asimov has called the ‘molecular obsession’ with the Côte d’Or, you can still source fine, 1er- Cru- level whites, with singular personalities, for less than the cost of a Bourgogne Blanc from a well-known producer further north.

Given the family connection, it won’t surprise you to hear that this small 4.5-hectare Domaine is run in the same earth-to-glass spirit as Didier’s family Estate in Chablis.

In recent years, the reputation of the wines from the best producers of the Côte Chalonnaise has blossomed; a testament to the commitment of growers like Jaeger-Defaix. For those new to this fine grower, Jaeger-Defaix is the family Domaine of Hélène Defaix, wife of Didier Defaix (of Chablis producer Domaine Bernard Defaix). Most of the Domaine’s vineyards are Premier Cru and brilliantly situated. All the vineyards are managed organically.

The connection to the land here is strong and goes back three generations; the great-grandfather of Hélène, Henri Niepce, was instrumental in achieving and promoting Rully's AOC status in the 1930s. The first vintage under Hélène & Didier’s full control was 2004. Since then, they’ve built a strong reputation for cool, refreshingly elegant Chardonnay and sweetly scented, juicy Pinot Noirs, which cost appreciably less money than wines of similar quality from the Côte D’Or. Looking for outstanding value, quality Burgundy? Then the best wines of Rully should be at the very top of your list.