No other Chablis house releases wines quite like Defaix. Daniel-Etienne has done the aging for you, presenting these wines in peak drinking condition. We have long championed the brand and move quickly when rare Grand Cru allocations become available.
Defaix’s lineage stands alongside Chablis royalty like Raveneau and Dauvissat. While Raveneau’s 2022 release has reached the market and Dauvissat’s 2023s have just arrived, Defaix’s current offering hails from the 2013 vintage—at a fraction of the price. Securing Grand Cru Raveneau and Dauvissat at retail is nearly impossible, making this limited allocation all the more extraordinary.
Les Grenouilles is Chablis’ smallest Grand Cru, farmed by just five producers on its rocky, fossil-laden slope near the Seine. The Defaix family’s cherished parcel, planted in 1960, yields a Grand Cru defined by pure minerality and captivating complexity—less flashy than Les Clos, less structured than Preuses, but uniquely refined.
The 2013 vintage is a rare gem, offering tell-tale notes of fresh-picked apples, Meyer lemon, honeyed almonds, white flowers, dried ginger, and crushed stone. A medium-weight texture carries a perfectly balanced interplay of orchard fruits, citrus, fleur de sel, and signature oyster shell minerality. Don’t hesitate to tuck this one away for another three to five years.
