2023 Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis

Tiny volume, ultra-clean fruit and precise, bespoke winemaking are the keys to this delicious, limited-edition zero-sulphur label. The wine originates from a small parcel of 40-year-old vines in Milly, close to the cellar. Didier explains that this section of the vineyard always produces grapes with good structure, which works well for this winemaking style. Natural fermentation in stainless steel with minimal handling and bottling without fining or filtration form the rudiments of the approach in the cellar. Defaix also bottles the wine with more carbon dioxide than usual, which acts as a preservative. How does this wine differ from the regular Chablis botting? It’s super pulpy with more fuzzy, lemony citric tang than the Chablis proper. It’s also rounder and juicier—less linear if you like. Then you get those soft-focus yeasty traces of fermentation you don’t find in the mainline Chablis. So, you gain something and lose something—but it is all good! We should mention that the wine pours slightly cloudy and with initial spritz, so mild aeration is recommended. The Defaix family recommend drinking within a few years. Some will prefer this wine to the Chablis above and vice versa. It’s a delicious, pristine Chablis, but not as we know it.