TN: 2008 Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

WINE TALK
#1

2008 Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (12/2/2022)
More green apple sauteed in brown butter, dried honey advancement...not as fresh as the 04 Les Lys just had, and a 05 Vaillons from Raveneau last week blows this out of the water. Not terrible...some nice spice, and crushed oyster...sharp lemon citrus...but drinks more like an aged Meursault in richness than a 1er Chablis. No sea air funk...limestone chalk. Disappointing first bottle...hope there are better ones left from the sixer. **87pts** EDIT This actually brightened up after 2 days...showing a wonderful beam of lemon citrus now instead of the brown butter saute, with the dried honey and apple pie spice more a nuance. Hmmm...this is actually quite an amazing turn in this wine??? The ox is now like a bubble-less Krug??? Holy Cow...reminds me of the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay! ;-) Will air out the next bottle. 93pts now! (93 points)

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#2

Did you just grab this from WHWC on Black Friday? I couldn’t pass these up for $35/bottle.

#3

Yes

1 Like
#4

Thanks for the note. I’ve definitely noticed almost all of D-E Defaix benefit from a lot of air. 03 Les Lys has been the only outlier for me. Just had the 17 Chablis VV tonight that was a totally different wine 2 hours in compared to pnp. Tropical and almost sauv blanc like to start then classic chablis by hour 2. I have 1/2 the bottle left for tomorrow, which I have high hopes for. I was asleep at the wheel for the WHWC offer. Should have loaded up

#5

I actually just enjoyed the 2005 of the same wine. Even my partner who doesn’t drink much exclaimed how good it was. We PnP’ed it.

#6

heard rumors of oxidized 08. My one bottle tasted was fine