Description
Jaeger-Defaix is the family domaine of Hélène Defaix, wife of Didier Defaix (of Chablis producer Domaine Bernard Defaix). Most of the Jaeger-Defaix vineyards are Premier Cru and brilliantly situated. All the vineyards are managed organically. Given the family connection, it won’t surprise you to hear that this small five-hectare domaine is run in the same earth-to-glass spirit as Didier’s family Estate in Chablis. The connection to the land here is strong and goes back three generations—the great-grandfather of Hélène, Henri Niepce, was instrumental in achieving and promoting Rully’s AOC status in the 1930s.
The first vintage under Hélène and Didier’s full control was 2004. Since that time, they’ve built a strong reputation for cool, refreshingly elegant Chardonnay and sweetly scented, juicy Pinot Noir, all of which cost appreciably less money than wines of similar quality from the Côte d’Or.
The Clos du Chapître is a Monopole vineyard for this producer. It’s located within the Rully 1er Cru Chapître and enclosed by a two-metre-high stone wall. The surface area of the plot is just over one hectare, and it lies behind the family house and cellars. The Pinot yields here are controlled by severe pruning, de-budding and green-harvesting. There is also a manual sorting of bunches in order to keep only the most beautiful clusters of fruit.
Jancis Robinson MW has written that the wines from this site “offer proof that the Côte Chalonnaise can now field wines of serious interest to those raised on Côte d’Or wines.” Defaix’s 2019 brings this observation home with a bang. This year, only 20% whole bunches were retained and the wine was aged in oak barrels (50% new) for 15 months before bottling.
Clos du Chapître delivers more depth, structure and complexity than the Rully villages, yet there’s no lack of levity and brightness. Reminiscent of a good Nuits-Saint-Georges, it opens with a core of sweet fruit, earth and spice before a supple, deep-pile texture cut by lots of energy and snap. In short, a cracking vintage for this cuvée. When you factor in the price (this is a 1er Cru wine) and remember that many in the Côte d’Or are charging similar or even higher prices for a Bourgogne level, it’s a no-brainer.
91 points, Jasper Morris, Inside Burgundy “Very slightly deeper colour than Préaux, offering a powerful but currently slightly reduced nose. Warmer richer fruit, some ripe pepper right at the end, notably greater depth of fruit on the palate, a grander wine worth waiting for. More structure, fully ripe in 2019 but in balance.”
RRP $107 Our Special Price $99.99 – VERY LIMITED
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