During a very special event at the Club Automobile de Paris on Place de la Concorde, Laurent and Catherine Delaunay, founders and owners of Badet Clément, unveiled the new name for their international family wine group; Delaunay Vins & Domaines.
At the same time, they announced the arrival of their daughter Jeanne, the 6th generation of Delaunay winemakers from Burgundy, to work alongside them as the company’s third family winemaker. She will head up their premium Languedoc brand, Abbotts & Delaunay and to represent the start of a new era and a new vision for the family business.
After being forced to sell Edouard Delaunay, his family’s Burgundy maison founded in 1893 following his father’s illness, Laurent Delaunay with his wife Catherine moved to the Languedoc in 1995 and built a company from scratch, creating branded and estate wines initially just from the Languedoc.
The Delaunay’s christened their new company Badet Clément after a small Burgundy house bought by Laurent’s grandfather in 1930, having given up the right to use the family name when the business was sold. However, as the company grew the name didn’t grow with it, but in 2017 a lucky twist of fate enabled Laurent Delaunay to finally buy back his family’s business in Burgundy and with it the right to use the Delaunay name once again.
“In Delaunay Vins & Domaines we at last have a name which not only coherently reflects the image of all our brands, our wines and our domaines, but also legitimately combines our joint and quite rare identity as both Languedociens and Burgundians which is very important to us.” He continues, “With the arrival into the business of our daughter Jeanne, we have not only renamed but also restructured the company to focus on our three core brands; Les Jamelles and Abbotts & Delaunay from the Languedoc and Edouard Delaunay in Burgundy, with each one now headed up by a family winemaker member, Catherine, Jeanne and myself respectively.”
“It feels like the circle is now finally complete and as our Badet Clément chapter closes, our Delaunay Vins & Domaines story beings! We have once again become a proud family wine business and I am delighted that it will pass from generation to generation as is the tradition in Burgundy and the wider French winemaking community.”
As the new face of Abbotts & Delaunay, Jeanne Delaunay will be heavily involved not only in the vinification of the wines but also in the brand’s strategic approach and marketing. She brings with her valuable hands-on wine-making experience gained with some of the top names in the industry including the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Sonoma, and closer to home in Burgundy, Thibault Liger-Belair and Romanée Conti. Her arrival signifies a new era for the brand, which was originally conceived in the 00’s. Designed by Laurent Delaunay to be the benchmark for premium wines coming out of the Languedoc, Abbotts & Delaunay will be receiving a major refresh next year under Jeanne’s dynamic, new leadership.
She will also be forging ahead with Delaunay Vins & Domaines’ CSR policy, something which she admits tugs deeply at her heartstrings, and which along with respect for the environment has been at the heart of the company for the past ten years.
Jeanne says, “I’m very excited to be joining Delaunay Vins & Domaines! And equally very aware of the responsibility involved in heading up such a successful brand as Abbotts & Delaunay.” She continues, “My main objectives for the brand are to continue to evolve the style of these haut-couture wines made on exceptional Languedoc terroirs but in a Burgundy way. First by focusing on our own 35 ha of vines at Domaine de la Metairie d’Alon in Limoux and Domaine de la Lause at Monze, then supplementing this by buying in fruit and wines, developing partnerships with interesting growers and by putting a real focus on terroirs with a strong identity and single vineyards.
In just under four decades since its creation, Delaunay Vins & Domaines now has a turnover of €64million, selling 15 million bottles and exporting to more than 55 countries. Its wines are known and respected around the world for their quality and precision, and with these big new developments the Delaunay family are now looking forward to their next exciting chapter.