Chablis Domaine Bernard Defaix Wine

Bernard considerably developed the surface area of the domain. Sylvain and Didier have set their focus on further improving the quality of the wine, notably through yield control. In the vineyard as in the cellar, their aim is to minimise the impact on the environment.

WINEMAKING, TECHNIQUE AND KNOW-HOW

To make good wine, you need good grapes.

The first step to successful winemaking begins in the vineyard itself. The training of the vines on organic farming with a very rigorous follow-up enables the grapes to reach their peak level of maturity and expression.

We harvest mechanically for better working flexibility. We can, for example, stop harvesting when it rains. On our grape variety, Chardonnay, we obtain very good results with the harvesting machine and the quality of our wines is excellent.

The grapes are taken rapidly to the cellar where there are immediately pressed. We began in 2004 with a new installation for receiving the harvest and pressing which respects the raw material even more.
In the new harvesting bins, there is a chamber at the bottom to collect the juice and separate it from the harvest in order to avoid oxidation. Then, the harvesting bins are emptied on a conveyor belt which “feeds” one of the presses. With this system, we can refine the sorting, and the grapes are absolutely not triturated. The soft pressing allows us to sort the best juices. Finally, on the new press, the bottom collecting the juices has reduced dimensions so that the surface contact between air and juice is as small as possible.

The first benefit we have observed with this new installation is the very low rate of deposit in the juices, which enables us to work even more on the fineness of the wines.

Slow and gentle pneumatic pressing.

The alcoholic fermentation, followed by the malolactic fermentation, take place in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels depending on the type of wine being produced. The wine is kept on its fine lees for 8 to 12 months, depending on the cru or vintage. These lees are regularly moved round to enrich the wine. In the barrels, we use a "batonnage" technique, and in the tanks the lees are pumped over in the absence of air.

Racking begins in April with Petit Chablis and ends during the summer for the Premiers Crus. We fine the wines to ensure soft clarification.

They then undergo light filtration before bottling. We carry out all these operations ourselves.

In the cellar as in the vineyard, we try to minimise the impact of our processes on the environment. We have therefore invested in a temperature control system for the tanks, with a closed circuit, replacing the old system of trickling. Our water consumption is reduced by 80%, as are our wastewater emissions

* The use of oak barrels

In the days before concrete and stainless steel, wood was the only recipient in which one was able to store and transport wine in bulk. Different varieties of wood were utilised.

Today, the only wood used for wine barrels is oak. Indeed, from a mere container, wood was soon discovered to play an actual role in improving wine ; vine-growers thus selected the wood which had the most interesting sensorial qualities, namely oak.

A part of our wines ferment and are aged in oak barrels. The wood is porous, allowing micro-oxygenation of the wine. Furthermore, the lees are regularly moved round using "batonnage". These 2 processes enable the wine to acquire fuller body and structure.

Owever, in order to preserve the typicity of our appellations, it is essential to use wood with great care. Indeed, if the proportion of barrels (and new barrels) is too great, the oak confers its own aromas, masking those of the wine. We are careful not to go to this extreme. This is why the “cuvées”aged in barrels are always blended with the same “cuvées” aged in tanks. Therefore, in our wines that are fermented and aged in barrels, the aromatic hints of wood almost go unnoticed.

We perform all the operations from bottling, labelling and packing ourselves.

TOP OF THE PAGE