About the Wine
Patience is a virtue, but one found very rarely amongst wine drinkers. Delayed gratification is not something we all believe in, so it's wonderful that there are producers like Defaix who are releasing their wines fully mature and ready to drink.
This comes from Vaillons, specifically Les Lys. With sloped vineyards and vines 45 years old, this is the most classically styled Chablis of all of Defaix's wines. There is concentration and power coming through, which is typical of all of Defaix's aged wines, but it shows the most finesse, length and chalky minerality. Honeyed nuts, bergamot and white petals with toasty complexity and intensity. The bar has been set.
About Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix
Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix might be one of the most interesting Chablis producers you've never heard of, perhaps even one of France's.
The eponymous Daniel-Etienne, about to do his 36th vintage, is the 15th generation of this family to make wines in Chablis, a legacy that spans over 400 years. He is based in Avallon, at a 16e Century property.
Wild yeast ferments, no oak usage at all, long cool maturation in one of the region's largest cellars, and, most spectacularly, release of all his wines with exceptional bottle age - the 1er Crus about eight years, and the Grand Crus about 15 years. Extraordinary man and extraordinary wines.

Chablis, France