Tasted in Chablis (Milly) with Didier Defaix, 24 January 2024.
Domaine Bernard Defaix
17 Rue du Château, Milly
89800 Chablis
Tel: +33 3 86 42 40 75
www.bernard-defaix.com
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Didier on 2023:
“I doubt that many people are unhappy – for us it was about the same volume as in 2022 – very close. From the quality perspective also a similar esprit – both quite early vintages, maybe a bit more richness in 2023. We had a bit of VCI in the Chablis but not in the 1ers.”
Didier on 2022:
“It’s average for volume, certainly not extraordinary, but if we compare this volume to that from 2021 we are much happier! it’s very good – the weather of the year made for quite an easy year. The harvest brought a practically perfect cleanliness of grapes – we are hyper-vigilant for having the right balance in the harvest dates. It’s strong vintage, stable too, it didn’t go through phases of good or not good – it was always showing well. Probably one of the top three vintages in the last 10 !!”
The wines…
A delicious range of wines from Didier in 2022 – and some of the entry wines are completely delicious!
All DIAM here – some different densities are used “But we are happy with them they really keep the style of wine which we want to produce.” Some markets have some screw-cap possibilities here too – but only 10-15% of the production – it’s the customer who decides. A bunch of wines are not yet bottled – Chablis and Petit Chablis were done just before the harvest and some are just ready to start – “It will depend on the phase of the moon – we usually have 3 or 4 waves of bottlings after a longer elevage:”
2022 St.Bris
A strong varietal character here – this is an easy wine to spot blind – minty wine. Good volume in the mouth but tasty wine – you have to like sauvignon as you can’t mistake it – but this is delicious and quite mineral finishing!
2022 Bourgogne Aligoté
Also from St.Bris – ‘We have contracts, we are not owners here. We try to make an accessible wine – not too strict – not just the flavour, the price too !!’
Narrower but fresh and inviting aromas. Fuller in the mouth and with a modest cushion but growing intensity of flavour. Lots of tasty action here – that’s a lovely wine and not too direct.
2022 Bourgogne Blanc
Extra width – almost a little soil complexity in this nose. Hmm, I like this, it’s a wine to contemplate, to think about, with its leading edge of incisive citrus fruit, and a small generosity behind. The finish is both strong and long. Very good wine!
Less impact, more airy but rather complex too – it’s a nice aromatic invitation. Direct, mineral, growing in intensity – hmm, there’s salinity and even a little licorice too. Excellent, possibly great PC!
2022 Chablis
Only tank elevage – temperature-controlled..
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!
2022 Chablis 1er Les Lys
Was bottled at the start of January.
Panoramic, clean, pure citrus minerality – that’s so open and inviting. Large scale, the texture just a subtle richness. Intense finishing, with successive waves of delicious finishing flavour. Another simply beautiful wine – I love it!
2022 Chablis 1er Vaillons
This nose a little deeper and quite concentrated – it’s less open than the Lys today. In the mouth too there’s plenty of scale and a small rounding of the shape with some barrel elevage – unlike the Lys – but the both saw about a quarter of barrel elevage. Keep this a couple of years to let the oak fade.
The last of the bottled wines:
2022 Chablis 1er Fourchaume
Much broader, more yellow citrus – ripe but not too much. A small cushion here – but this wine is alive with energy – and like the nose, rather wide over the palate. A small nod to it’s elevage but actual notes of oak are hardly visible. The finish considered – and also broad! Super Fourchaume!
Not these are tank samples:
2022 Chablis Vieilles-Vignes
A parcel just under Les Lys 1er cru – about 50-year-old vines of around 1 ha. There’s about 25% barrel used here – ‘228s but hardly anything new’ – for the other cuvées of 1ers they are 500-litre barrels.
A good volume of aroma here. In the mouth there’s obvious concentration. A supple wine but never heavy wine – intense, the density bringing contributing to a contemplative finishing flavour – there is a lot of scale to this wine. Maybe wait 2-3 years for it to open out more – but here is a lot of wine.
2022 Chablis 1er Côte de Lechet SSA
Sans Souffre Ajouté – ie no added sulfur at this stage
Much deeper aromas, a small reduction empowering this. Lots of CO2 today. Like most of these premiers a wine of larger volume that fills the mouth. The finish just sticks, a wow finish!
2022 Chablis 1er Côte de Lechet Reserve
From a single parcel, just over 1 ha of vines. Half barrel elevage for this old-vine cuvée
Back to the broad and open, yellow-citrus nose. A little softening of the shape at the edges by the barrel – but not with any overt barrel flavour – except a little finishing creaminess. The finish less intense and energetic today than the SSA or the standard cuvée. For keeping to help the wine open out more and bring more focus, but today I find a bit less interest with this wine – wait at least 3 years if you can.
2022 Chablis Vaudesir
All grand crus here have 100% old barrel elevage.
Open and pretty – clarity of citrus and minerals – it’s a beautiful invitation. Large in scale but with a super mouth-watering complexity, faintly zesty and not a bit too generous. That’s a very classy grand cru that’s already approachable but you can most enjoy from 10-20 years of age – super!
2022 Chablis Bougros
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. I slightly prefer the more open presentation of the Vaudésir today – but this is also a super wine!
And some Rully?
From Didier’s wife’s domaine:
2022 Domaine Delenne, Rully 1er Les Clous Blanc
Bottled start of January.
A broader aromatic, more obviously packaged with some oak. Mouth-filling, silky, generous wine but here is still a line of intensity and attractiveness – delicious, comforting wine!
2022 Rully 1er Clos du Chapitre Rouge
A very cherry nose – maraschino( ?) – very nice – and that’s before the lovely floral perfume rises form the glass. Freshness but here is density of flavour too – a little caramel in the finishing flavour – but then fading to finish more focused on the fruit again. That’s a very delicious wine – I’d wait 2-3 years for things to open out and the oaky caramel to fade – a similar patience as for the oak on the white – but these are both lovely!