Defaix Frères Four Generations of Expertise in Burgundy, France
Defaix Frères is a boutique, family-run domaine in France’s celebrated Burgundy region. With access to some of the best Premier and Grand Cru climats in Chablis and Rully, the estate produces beautifully elegant, high-quality wines from Burgundy.
The domaine was established in 1955, with only two hectares / five acres in Chablis’ Premier Cru Côte de Léchet. In 2003, Hélène Jaeger-Defaix inherited the estate from her great-aunt. Today, she runs Defaix Frères alongside her husband, Didier Defaix, and his brother, Sylvain.
Hélène and Didier Defaix are the fourth generation of her family to grow grapes and the second generation to craft estate-bottled wines, producing their first vintage in 2004. The family has a long, rich history in Burgundy — Hélène’s great-grandfather, Henri Niepce, was instrumental in promoting and achieving Rully’s AOC status in the 1930s. Conscious of this profound legacy, they strive to craft remarkable wines worthy of the Defaix family name.
Defaix Frères received its official organic certification from Ecocert in 2019 and employs organic and sustainable farming practices in all its vineyards. The domaine cultivates 27 hectares / 67 acres in the Chablis AOC, including four Premier Cru climats, one contracted Premier Cru, one Grand Cru climat, and two contracted Grands Crus. Additionally, it has six hectares / 15 acres of Premier Cru vineyards in the Rully AOC and sources grapes from prime terroir in the nearby commune of Auxerre, too.
In the winery, the Defaix family uses minimal intervention. They ferment with natural indigenous yeasts and utilize stainless steel tanks or old oak barrels for fermentation and aging. These practices allow each Defaix Frères wine to showcase its unique terroir and individual style. The wines are, and ever have been, authentic expressions of some of the Burgundy region’s finest vineyards.
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Founded
1955 -
Location
Chablis, Burgundy, France
Terroir
The Defaix family owns vines in and sources grapes from some of the finest terroirs of Burgundy. In Chablis, they cultivate 27 hectares / 67 acres of AOC vineyards. These include four Premier Cru climats (Côte de Léchet, Les Vaillons, Les Lys, and Montée de Tonnerre), one contracted Premier Cru of Montée de Tonnerre, one Grand Cru of Bougros, and two contracted Grands of Vaudésir and Les Clos.
In the Rully AOC, the family has six hectares / 15 acres — including Premier Cru Les Cloux, Premier Cru Rabourcé (an unofficial Grand Cru Blanc), and Premier Cru Clos du Chapitre-Monopole (a walled-in vineyard and unofficial Grand Cru Rouge). They also source grapes from Auxerre, located 15 kilometers / nine miles from Chablis, for their elegant sauvignon blanc and aligoté wines.
Viticulture
Defaix Frères employs organic and sustainable farming methods in all their vineyards. In 2009, the estate began conversion into organic farming with Ecocert and was able to be organic for most vintages, achieving a full return to organic certification in 2019. Since 2019, the team has also regulated vineyard activities by moon cycles, a common practice in biodynamic viticulture.
The team fights frost, one of the Burgundy region’s greatest climatic challenges, with two natural methods: a water aspersion system and paraffin burners. To restore the mineral balance in the vineyards’ soils, the team plants Phacelia flowers for a five-year period and applies the “Jachère” (fallow period) to rest the soils to avoid vine deformation.
Defaix Frères Wines Showcase Their Fine Terroir
The Defaix Frères winery uses natural indigenous yeast for all fermentations, highlighting each wine’s terroir and unique style. Regional wines, Petit Chablis, and Chablis are fermented in stainless steel tanks on fine lees. Chablis Premier Cru wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel (80%) and old oak barrels (20%) for two to five years, while Chablis Grand Cru and Rully wines are entirely fermented and aged in old oak barrels for two to five years.
