Description
Daniel-Etienne Defaix, Chablis Premier Cru “Vaillons”
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 this case. This jaw-dropping Premier Cru spent 11 years in barrel and tank, followed by three more years of bottle aging. 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. It displays all the depth and complexity one expects from 14+ years of aging while perfectly preserving the 2009 vintage’s youthful freshness, power, and regality. Unlike so many other older white Burgundies, here there is no premature oxidation, no watery finish, and not one crack starting to show.
