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Bernard Defaix: The Director’s Cut

“Buy this without question” [Morris]—New Wines and Restocks
Bernard Defaix: The Director’s Cut
Today, we offer a new tranche of Defaix’s cracking 2022 wines, plus the first arrivals from 2023. The latest ‘22s include the Côte de Léchet Réserve, cropped from a specific parcel of fruit in that great 1er Cru vineyard. The old vines here always deliver a wine of particular intensity, which Didier Defaix then raises with older oak barrels from the family’s sister property in Rully. Then, alongside restocks of the Chablis and mainline Côte de Léchet, we offer one of the most impressive Grand Cru Bougros this domaine has bottled.

As we mentioned last time, the 2023 vintage in Chablis was prolific, though Sylvain Defaix’s team pruned their vines as hard as usual. Yields were kept at a sensible level, and the young wines we tasted looked great: juicy and bright, with fruitiness behind them. Alongside the Petit Chablis from this vintage, we have shipped a small allocation of the domaine’s second release of their new Chablis Sans Soufre.

Sans soufre is the French for ‘without sulphur’, and Didier Defaix has worked on zero sulphur trials for many years. After overwhelmingly positive feedback from his clients, he was convinced to bottle a separate, unfiltered wine from the 2022 vintage. The new vintage is every bit as delicious. We only received five cases, so please be quick if you would like to grab some. Note that the 2022s are available immediately; the two 2023s are due to land later this month, so feel free to order for later delivery.

The Wines

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022

Diam. 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 and Domaine Bernard Defaix. With nine hectares of vines overlooking the village of Milly, the domaine is the largest single 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—as well as the site’s only certified-organic grower.

Perfectly exposed to the southeast, Jasper Morris MW describes an archetypal wine from Léchet, pictured above, as “Entirely white fruited in style …not dissimilar to Beauroy, but with more intensity”, while Andrew Jefford suggested the hill gifts “some of the most 'mineral' Chablis of all”. In 2022, you get the best of all these, even if there is an extra dollop of fruit sweetness compared to a classical vintage. Taking advantage of the vineyard’s intensity and to build complexity, Didier Defaix ferments a quarter of this wine in old, neutral barrels which previously housed Defaix’s old-vine Reserve Léchet bottling. It’s a fleshy and seamless Côte de Léchet with oodles of mixed citrus, briny drive and impressive tension between waves of fruit and the vibrant, chalky freshness that this site always delivers in spades. Doggone delicious and a bargain in the scheme of things. 

“Five star wine. Mid lemon colour, the bouquet has fineness here. Wonderful vibrations, mostly white fruit, a sensation of white pebbles in a white soil. Delicate but with a fine backbone and excellent length. Iodine finish. Not a wine to gulp but to take time over. Drink over 2027-2035.”
92-94 points Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022 (1500ml)

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022 (1500ml)

Screwcap. 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 and Domaine Bernard Defaix. With eight hectares of vines, 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). A quarter of the fruit fermented and matured in old, neutral barrels (which previously housed Defaix’s old-vine Reserve Léchet bottling).

“Five star wine. Mid lemon colour, the bouquet has fineness here. Wonderful vibrations, mostly white fruit, a sensation of white pebbles in a white soil. Delicate but with a fine backbone and excellent length. Iodine finish. Not a wine to gulp but to take time over. Drink over 2027-2035.”
92-94 points Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2022 (1500ml)
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 2022

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 2022

Screwcap. Defaix’s village Chablis is drawn from four parcels of mature, 30-plus-year-old vines situated around Milly and Poinchy on the left bank of the Serein River. The wine ferments spontaneously and ages on fine lees for 10 months in glass-lined tanks. Compared to the wine above, the older vines translate to more character, depth and classical restraint—not to mention supersized minerality and ozone salinity. It’s a ripe, poised and vibrantly fresh Chablis with juicy nectarine, mixed citrus fruit and stony, pithy freshness running the length of the palate. A terrific, super seductive Chablis and another outstanding-value wine from Domaine Bernard Defaix. We encourage you to take Jasper’s advice! 

“Complete harmony, a certain amount of nuance, lifted finish thanks to acceptable acidity. Bottled July. Pale lemon colour, a little more flesh on the nose, pleasingly rounded, very stylish. Buy this without question. With time in the glass the Chablis minerality shows as well as the pleasing flesh.”
89 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
“More open again, clean and mineral with a little inviting energy too. Larger scale, certainly not a direct wine to start, but one with a lot of minerality. Lovely texture and volume here – again with a peak of finishing flavour that’s full of salinity – simply excellent Chablis too!”
Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 2022
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet Réserve 2022

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet Réserve 2022

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 and Domaine Bernard Defaix. With nine hectares of vines overlooking the village of Milly, the domaine is the largest single 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—as well as the site’s only certified-organic grower. 

Alongside the 1er Cru Côte de Léchet proper, Defaix also bottles this selection from a single hectare of almost 70-year-old vines on the mid-slope. The idea is to showcase the old vines’ ability to produce a more layered, hedonistic, seductive wine than the standard Côte de Léchet cuvée.

“This is always a bit more aromatically dynamic than the regular bottling and has a gentler attack and palate feel, too. Flavors of graham crackers, cinnamon and tarte tatin lace across the palate. The spherical palate is kept nicely in place by tightly-wound acidity. This offers immediate appeal but will definitely improve with even just a few more years in bottle.”
94 points, Christy Canterbury, Tim Atkin Burgundy Report
“Pale lemon yellow with a touch of green. A little more vegetal or at least fruit loaded, really very exciting. Quite full, indeed very full, but still with perfect balance, an expanse of white flesh with enough structure to create a fine finish. Needs a white meat dish. Long aftertaste.”
92-94 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet Réserve 2022
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2022

Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2022

Diam. Located in the northwest corner of the Grand Cru slope below Preuses, Bougros has a notable south-easterly exposure and the steepest gradient of all the Chablis Grand Cru vineyards. We like Jasper Morris’s evocative description of the Bougros style: "like being smothered in a great big woolly jumper—big, fat, soft and round”. This speaks to the texture of the wines from here. Morris goes on to describe the top of the vineyard—the sector from which this wine hails—as displaying the classical minerality of Chablis. The wine ferments and ages in oak barrels with regular bâtonnage and is bottled after 18 months.

“Slightly paler colour and more of a green tint. The nose is more backward, white fruit, the minerals more in retirement. This explodes on the palate while retaining its essential core, now the minerals come out, pure white fruit, with the spice of Bougros. An excellent example. Drink from 2028-2037.”
93-95 points, Jasper Morris MW, Inside Burgundy
“Exuberant on the nose with jackfruit, mango and crushed quartz, the palate further layers on the complexity with clementines and anise. Spritely acidity suavely guides the succulent palate into a finessed, long finish.”
94 points, Christy Canterbury, Tim Atkin Burgundy Report
“Here is extra aromatic breadth – maybe a little more generosity too – but with a nice vibration of energy. Like the Vaudesir, there’s extra depth and concentration but with an approachability to the flavours – this has fine texture and super depth of flavour.”
Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report
Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis Grand Cru Bougros 2022

“A delicious range of wines from Didier in 2022 – and some of the entry wines are completely delicious!” Bill Nanson, The Burgundy Report

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