Burgundy’s Maison Edouard Delaunay pulled off a rare feat that hasn’t been done since 2005 at the IWC Awards Dinner last week, as they walked off with top accolades; Red Winemaker of the Year and Champion Red of the entire competition for their Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 with a stunning 98 points!
Last week’s impressive win now means that Maison Edouard Delaunay has won The IWC Winemaker of the Year for red three times and white once in the past five years – another standout achievement by owner and oenologue, Laurent Delaunay and his talented team.
Head of Events at the IWC, Alex Redfern said, “These results are exceptional, not many people get to do the double in the same evening in any category let alone in red! It is an amazing achievement for Edouard Delaunay and a credit to Laurent’s winemaking skills.”
One of the most respected international wine competitions in the world and widely regarded as the most rigorously judged, the IWC’s panel of international experts puts the trophy winners through a series of blind tastings to select the winning wines from specific countries which are named the best wines in the world. Then of these world-beating wines, the Edouard Delaunay Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021 was awarded the ultimate title last night, of Champion Red Wine in the entire competition. An honour reserved exclusively for wines that are deemed to be the absolute best-in-class and made even more impressive on this occasion as 2021 was not a good vintage in Burgundy.
Maison Edouard Delaunay, located in the heart of the Côtes de Nuits, was the most awarded still winemaker of the entire 2024 IWC competition. The house scooped a total of 7 trophies including the Best French Red, Best International Pinot Noir, Best Burgundy Red and best Chambertin for their Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021, as well as Puligny Montrachet for their Premier Cru Les Referts Blanc 2020, Nuits-Saint-Georges for their Premier Cru Les Saint-George Rouge 2020, Pommard for their Premier Cru Les Chaponnières. In addition to this very impressive trophy haul, their wines also won 8 gold, 15 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Current owner and great grandson of Edouard Delaunay’s founder, Laurent Delaunay commented, “I feel very honoured and humbled that Edouard Delaunay has become part of a very select group of producers to have won both Red Winemaker of the Year and the Champion Red for our Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2021.” He continues, “I am incredibly proud of the dedicated and talented team at Edouard Delaunay for all the hard work that they have put in to making these wines and that this continues to be recognised by the IWC. Tonight is another large step in cementing Edouard Delaunay’s growing reputation for making world class wines from Burgundy.”