The miracle of Daniel-Etienne Defaix’s unique “watchdog” cellar regimen is his ability to preserve a vintage’s youthful energy, texture, and vitality for an absurd amount of time—nearly 15 years in today’s case. That’s correct, this jaw-dropping Premier Cru spent 11 years in barrel and tank, followed by three more years of bottle aging in Defaix’s cellar.
It should be noted that today’s 2005 is different from the initial batch we offered in early 2019, which evaporated inside of two hours. This much-smaller shipment spent an extra year in Defaix's cellar and just arrived on our shores last month—a wine’s provenance is so fundamentally important, so I cannot stress how crucial this is. In short, this is the type of wine that raises the eyebrows of a Master Sommelier who’s tasted tens of thousands of wines, and not just because demand far outweighs quantity, or that it’s white Premier Cru Burgundy with age. It’s because a singularly talented cellarmaster has combined the “holy grail” 2005 vintage, an elite vineyard, and nearly 15 years of aging to deliver an outrageously delicious wine with perfect provenance...for under $60. I simply cannot name another wine, anywhere, that checks all these boxes. The Wine Advocate describes this extremely rare treasure as “drinking beautifully,” with a “charming, open-knit profile that belies its evident capacity to age.” We simply call it the most sensational mature Chablis value one could hope to find. It’s no secret that I always stock up on any Defaix we get our hands on, but between you and me, I’ve always found the most pleasure in today’s old-vine Vaillon. Get what you can now or forever hold your peace!
[*PLEASE NOTE: Today’s wine is on special order and will arrive at our warehouse in two weeks’ time.]
In an era when Burgundian whites are so often (a) overpriced and (b) engineered for quick release and young drinking, Defaix remains one of the last defenders of long, slow aging in the cellar and genuine value in the bottle. I can’t quite say how the estate stays in business after deferring profits for 14+ years, and then charging such modest prices for such exceptional wines—but I’m not arguing, either. My own experience cellaring Premier Cru Chablis has shown that most drink best between 10-20 years of bottle age. This is typically the point when oxygen has broken the wine down to the perfect balance between refreshing minerality and advanced aromatic complexity. This waiting game, however, can be dangerous, as one never knows if the wine has expired until the bottle is open. Fortunately, Daniel-Etienne Defaix is a master of anticipating each vintage’s eccentricities in this regard. Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed a variety of Defaix whites from the late-1990s to the present and almost always, spectacularly, they’ve possessed a beautiful synthesis of youth and maturity.
Defaix’s family has been producing wine in and around this region since the 1500s. Defaix works almost exclusively with Chardonnay and his ample collection of Premier Cru vineyards are farmed entirely by hand and fertilized with natural compost and manure. It’s an ancient and devoutly traditional operation in the vines. Still, I’d say that the most exciting and unique aspect of this property is what happens in the cellar. Over the last handful of centuries, the Defaix family has amassed a sprawling collection of Premier Cru acreage in Chablis—yet very little of the fruit it produces ends up in wine with a Defaix label! With 70+ acres of vines in the region, Daniel-Etienne oversees a ruthless triage (sorting) every harvest that banishes all but the finest, most pristine grapes to the négociant (merchant) market. Only a minuscule amount of peak-quality product remains for fermentation in the Defaix cellar.
Benefitting exclusively from the property’s native airborne yeast culture, Defaix’s wines ferment slowly and naturally—sometimes for as long as a month for alcoholic fermentation, and even two years for natural malolactic fermentation to complete. It’s an unusually patient, hands-off process, but the excitement doesn’t end there: Defaix aged today’s “Vaillon” on its fine lees for upwards of two years, while using an unusual oxygen- and sulfite-free bâtonnage (lees-stirring) process that relied only on the wine’s self-produced CO2 to maintain freshness. While there is ample technique and technology in this second stage of vinification at Defaix, things return to arch-traditionalism for the rest of the voyage. There is no harsh fining or filtering, only an additional two years of natural settling and clarification in the family’s bone-chilling underground cellar. Finally, before bottling, Defaix demands a second multi-year round of gentle aging. When all is said and done, one can generally expect to wait between 12-13 years for the release of Defaix’s top Premier Crus. It can be agonizing to hold out for a truly special vintage like 2005 (when everyone else is releasing 2018s), but it’s well worth the wait!
With today’s extraordinary 2005 Chablis Premier Cru “Vaillon,” Daniel-Etienne Defaix has pulled off yet another miracle: Namely a wine that displays all the depth and complexity one expects from 14+ years of aging in Defaix’s frigid cellar while still perfectly preserving the 2005 vintage’s youthful freshness, power, and regality. Unlike so many other older white Burgundies in the market, here there is no premature oxidation, no watery finish, and not one crack starting to show. It’s a masterpiece, and an absolute joy to drink right now. Whereas many wines from Chablis only tease fruit and richness, today’s 2005 “Vaillon” overwhelms the senses with vibrant yellow apple and citrus, opulent mid-palate fruit, cascading layers of floral and mineral aromatics, and a seductive finish that lingers for what feels like hours. This is about as hedonistic and luxurious as Chablis gets. And you really can’t go wrong: Feel free to decant for 30-60 minutes if you wish, or directly from bottle into large Burgundy stems. Either way will yield tremendous results. It just goes to show you: truly outstanding wines don’t need to be coddled! When it comes to a companion dish, eschew refined cuisine in favor of crispy, perfectly grilled cornish game hens alongside a platter of blistered potatoes dauphinoise and a local baguette with lots of butter. You know you’ve hit it out of the park when there isn’t a drop or morsel remaining after dinner!
