Burgundy revival: New lease of life for Maison Edouard Delaunay

‘I had lost enough time,’ said fifth-generation Laurent Delaunay when talking about the purchase of his father’s estate in 2017.

Established in 1893 by Laurent’s great-great-grandfather, Maison Edouard Delauany had been a successful wine business, but was reluctantly sold after illness and hard times struck in the early 1990s. It remained under the ownership of négociant Jean-Claude Boisset until two years ago when Burgundy-born Laurent and his wife Catherine struck a deal to buy it back.

Scroll down to see the Edouard Delaunay tasting notes and scores

The opportunity to come ‘home’ was one that couldn’t be passed up. The couple were also in perfect position to make the move having founded Badet Clément – a company specialising in the production and marketing of brand and estate wines made in the south of France, and through their existing merchant business DVP – Domaines & Vins de Propriété that works with 140 estates in Burgundy.

‘This is our quality project’, Laurent said we when spoke, ‘there is no pressure for us to be profitable very quickly but I want to show that we have the ability and knowledge to make high quality wines in Burgundy’.

Starting again

At the beginning he tells of three main challenges; first refurbishing and renovating the family cellars and winery based at Château de Charmont, in l’Etang-Vergy, in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits-Saint-Georges at a cost of 1.5million euros. Secondly, finding people to work with – Laurent said they were ‘lucky to hire the talented winemaker Christophe Briotet’ who had viticulture experience in Turkey and Chile and a position as the head winemaker and cellar master at the Lycée Viticole wine school in Beaune before joining the Delaunay team. Third, was to find the right grapes at the right quantities.

The estate doesn’t own its own vineyards but relies on a strong network and close relationships with growers in the region (one of whom, helpfully, is a school-friend of Laurent’s).

‘When we announced that we were buying back the family winery there was a movement of people who were pleased for us, and even some very good growers who wouldn’t normally sell their grapes said we could have the equivalent of one or two barrel’s worth – so it started very well,’ he said.

The first ‘proper’ vintage was 2017, although three wines were produced in very small quantities in 2016, ‘literally as garage wines – just one barrel of each’ (around 288 bottles).

The range has since grown to around 40 wines from the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune to ‘give a good representation of what each region can do’ but is subject to change year-on-year depending on quantity of grapes, quality of the vintage and if select parcels become available.

The range

Indeed the exact criteria for appellation selection were; what the couple liked and where they felt most at ease, where they were actually able to buy grapes, and origins they felt confident they could return to every vintage.

‘It has taken us three years to build the range but it came much faster than was I expecting – it’s pretty stable now. But you never know, if I can find a little Romanée-Saint-Vivant I wouldn’t decline’, Laurent said.

The 2018 range includes all the ‘dream’ appellations and counts nine Grand Crus of which Corton-Charlemagne, Charmes-Chambertin, Clos de la Roche, Clos de Vougeot and Echezeaux are among them – the Charmes, Laurent highlights, as ‘probably the most seductive so far’. It was also a generous vintage in terms of volume so was less complicated to persuade growers to part with their grapes he said.

A number of Premiers Crus complement the repertoire including, but not limited to, Beaune Les Grèves, Pommard Les Fremiers, Chassagne-Montrachet Clos Saint Jean, Morey-Saint-Denis Les Millandes, Nuits-Saint-Georges Aux Murgers and Vougeot Les Petits Vougeots.

In addition to the highly-prized names, there are several Bourgogne entry-level wines that Laurent said ‘over deliver’ in terms of quality. The ‘Septembre’ Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are each formed from various plots from all over the Côte d’Or and form a welcome introductory option to those discovering the estate before moving on to the other labels.

‘We try to bring complexity and depth to these wines. These are our ambassadors of the range and our way of working – we want the ‘wow effect,’ Laurent said.

Quality at each stage remains key

The team like to work with growers who have a sustainable approach to viticulture and spend time meticulously disusing blends – barrels that don’t fit the standards are left out of final bottlings. It’s a pragmatic approach that also sees them manage the entire harvest process themselves, deciding picking dates and sorting in the vineyard, ‘so it’s done the way we want,’ Laurent said.

No recipes or formulas are applied to the winemaking I’m told, for instance whole bunch fermentation can vary from zero to 50% and between eight and ten cooperages are used for barrels compared to the common one or two. ‘Every time we rack we want to have as many possibilities as possible at our disposal to show that very precise combination between the barrel and the wine’.

Laurent is also keen to develop a closer relationship with customers, launching an online shop, an exclusive wine club and is in the process of establishing a visitor centre to welcome guests.

‘Burgundy is not only wine, it’s an art de vivre – there are lot of people who want to be part of it and share it but without an introduction it can be difficult so we want to try and facilitate that’, he said.

Tasting

The eleven wines in the tasting, the majority from the 2018 vintage, represent a selection of styles and appellations but each showcasing the team’s finely-tuned winemaking methods giving purity of fruit flavour, subtle oak and fresh acidities.

As well as having complexity and nuance, the wines succeed in offering typicity and terroir markers – the Nuits-St-Georges Aux Chaignots offering ripe tannins and earthy-truffle edges from it’s deep-rooted soils compared to Les Murgers, from a vineyard slightly higher in altitude, being more closed when young and now offering blue fruit flavours and hints of liquorice.

It’s worth noting however that the 2019 vintage will be the last of the Aux Chaignots in the Delaunay portfolio as the vineyard has been sold and grapes allocated elsewhere.

Charmes-Chambertin 2018 was a particular highlight with a rich, sumptuous palate and plenty of character as well as the well-priced Septembre wines which showed well, offering great typicity and charm.

See the Edouard Delaunay tasting notes and scores

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