Founded over 130 years ago, the house of Delaunay became a large and important négociant and distributor of high-end Burgundy wines. The house remained in family hands, growing and garnering more and more success, as well as producing wines from their own vineyards. The success continued well into the 20th century under Jean-Marie Delaunay, but as he developed Alzheimers and the business began to falter, a decision was made to sell. The business was acquired by Jean Claude Boisset in the 1990s.
Under Boisset the company never hit the heights it had once enjoyed, and meantime the fifth generation who might well have been in charge had things been different, Laurent Delaunay and his wife Catherine, had established their own highly successful business in the south of France (including the Abbots & Delaunay brand). In 2017 the circle was completed, when Laurent purchased the name, winery and cellars from Boisset, once again putting the company into the original family’s hands.
The Boissets have expressed their intention to aim for the top with the reborn business, already producing a raft of Premiers and Grands Cru wines from top vineyards across the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits within an extensive portfolio. I have yet to taste those upper-end wines, but recently tasted two wines being supplied through Majestic stores in the UK under the ‘Septembre’ brand. These are both very nice, modestly priced appellation Bourgogne wines, quite refined and with elegance at modest prices.