Diam. Rabourcé has traditionally been nicknamed ‘the Montrachet of Rully’ for the richness and power it delivers. It is a very steep site west of the village, above the highly regarded Cloux vineyard and just below the woods. The soils are mainly white, limestone-rich clay. The Defaix vines are now between 40 and 45 years old. Rabourcé is always one of Rully’s first vineyards to ripen, and Defaix’s 2023 is a superb example—a wine of impressive depth and power. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and was raised in used oak barrels. Expect waves of fleshy, mouthcoating stone fruit and white flower notes with excellent intensity, culminating in a long, balanced, refreshing close.

Diam. Rully’s Les Cloux vineyard is located just south of the village, with south-easterly exposure on the sirloin cut of Rully 1er Cru overlooking the plain of Saône. Les Cloux is home to Defaix’s oldest vines, planted in 1944 on the classic clay/limestone mix found across the best sites in Burgundy. Since 2009, these old vines have been managed organically. Within Rully, Les Cloux is known for its ability to balance elegant and mouthwatering flesh with tangy grip and fine length, and 2022 delivers in spades. This 100% Chardonnay fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in older barrels (up to seven years old) for 12 months before settling in stainless steel.

From some of the oldest vines in California’s Russian River Valley, Hartford Court’s Four Hearts Chardonnay delivers apple, lemon and toasty oak with flinty minerality. Silky and powerful yet beautifully balanced — a benchmark for expressive, age-worthy California Chardonnay.