EATING OUT / Grapevine: Kathryn McWhirter on the Chablis trail

SUPERMARKET Chablis at pounds 4.49 can be very nice. But to see why Chablis got its reputation as one of the world's finest, longest-lived white wines, you need to pay more. While relatively inexpensive Chablis soon fade, the premier cru Chablis from good growers such as Domaines Etienne et Daniel Defaix will live for 30 years or more, developing complex flavours as it ages.

The extended Defaix family are the biggest owners of premier cru Chablis vineyards, and the wines made by Etienne's son Daniel are richer and more complex than most. Most stunning of the ones currently on sale, nearly scoring six stars, is the rich, perfumed *****1988 Chablis Premier Cru Vaillon ( pounds 14.50 Ballantines of Cowbridge, pounds 14.95 La Vigneronne of London SW7), full of lovely flavours of grass, butter and nut. Like this one, the big, honeyed *****1988 Chablis Premier Cru Cote de Lechet ( pounds 14.50 Ballantines of Cowbridge, pounds 14.95 La Vigneronne, Lay & Wheeler of Colchester and John Frazier of Solihull, pounds 15.50 Robersons of London W14) needs keeping five to 10 years to mature,

but will last longer. ***1987 Chablis Premier Cru Vaillon ( pounds 12.55 Wine Rack and Bottoms Up), more delicate and floral, also needs a few years' maturity. You could already drink the rich ****1988 Chablis Premier Cru Les Lys ( pounds 13.99 Tanners of Shrewsbury and Thomas Peatling in East Anglia and London EC1, pounds 14.95 Lay & Wheeler of Colchester, pounds 14.99 Selfridges) but this, too, keeps for decades. Also for drinking from now on from old vines in the lowlier vineyards is the honeyed and toasty ***1989 Chablis Vieilles Vignes ( pounds 9.99 Selfridges, pounds 10.49 Cachet Wines of York, pounds 10.95 Lay & Wheeler of Colchester, pounds 12.50 Robersons of London W14, pounds 12.99 John Frazier of Solihull). And the 10- year-old *****1983 Premier Cru Cote de Lechet ( pounds 23.95 Robersons of London W14, pounds 24 Selfridges, pounds 25 La Vigneronne) shows what is in store for younger wines - richly nutty, classic Chablis. It is no longer legal to plant red vines in the Chablis appellation controlee region, but from a plot of Pinot Noir vines planted by his grandfather Daniel Defaix makes the last legal red in Chablis. This is a cool climate for reds, and the ***1990 Bourgogne Rouge de Domaine Defaix ( pounds 8.85 Tanners of Shrewsbury) shares the Chablis's high acidity, but there's lovely grassy-raspberry flavour to balance. Lay and Wheeler of Colchester sells the more fragrant ***1989 Bourgogne Rouge d'Etienne Defaix ( pounds 8.95). These are reds to drink now.

*****superb, ****complex, exciting, ***excellent, **very good, *good