Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet 2014

Domaine Daniel-Étienne Defaix (also known as Domaine du Vieux Château) is a true Chablis legend, with winemaking roots stretching back centuries. The estate is a radical outlier in the region: following an ultra-extended aging on the lees - often lasting between 18 to 36 months - the wines are purposefully held back and released only when they have achieved full maturity and peak complexity. Combined with organic farming and Chablis' famed Kimmeridgian limestone soils, this unique approach lends the wines an incredible depth of flavour while maintaining that textbook, searing acidity and minerality.

The Chablis 1er Cru 'Côte de Léchet' hails from a highly prized, 3.5-hectare parcel on a sunny, ultra-steep slope boasting a gradient of up to 45 per cent. Regarded as a 'Grand Cru' site in the Middle Ages, this parcel’s shallow, stony soils are rich in marine fossils, imparting an intense minerality to the wine. Purposefully held back by the estate and released even later than the other Premier Cru bottlings, this is arguably Defaix’s most complex and layered expression.

On the nose, it displays intense aromatics of dried citrus fruit, wet stone, honey, and beeswax, beautifully intertwined with distinctive malted barley notes from extended ageing. Whilst showcasing more mature, tertiary characteristics than the other cuvées, the palate remains wonderfully energetic and lively, driven by a refreshing acidity and a profound, stony minerality. Long-lingering and bone-dry, this is an absolute must for lovers of aged Chablis.