Jeanne Delaunay（FRANCE）

General Director and Winemaker, ABBOTTS & DELAUNAY

CSR Manager, DELAUNAY Vins & Domaines

Jeanne Delaunay, representing the sixth generation of Delaunay winemakers from Burgundy, has been put in charge of Abbotts & Delaunay.

Before joining the family business in 2023, Jeanne embarked on a global journey to hone her skills and broaden her perspective. She gained invaluable experience at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Sonoma, worked alongside Thibault Liger-Belair and at the prestigious Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, and refined her craft at the Coldstream Hills Winery in Australia.

Rosé de Pinot Noir « Les Graves » Single Vineyard, the first cuvée envisioned and crafted by Jeanne Delaunay, has achieved an outstanding score of 92/100 at the 2024 IWSC competition! This elegant and profound wine is the result of meticulous and passionate work.

Laurent Delaunay (Jeanne’s father),president of the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB),  founder and owner of Delaunay Vins & Domaines, owner of Edouard Delaunay winery.
Catherine Delaunay (Jeanne’s mother), chief winemaker of Les Jamelles.

Newly-named Delaunay Vins & Domaines, the former Badet-Clément group is unusual among French wine producers in that it straddles two regions – Burgundy, where it regained Édouard Delaunay from Boisset in 2017, and Languedoc, where it bought Abbotts & Delaunay from Nerida Abbott in 2005. The group also owns Les Jamelles in Aude, the brand launched in the mid-1990s.

Q: How many years have you been in the wine & spirits business?

J.D: I come from a family of Burgundy negociants, so I’ve been immersed in the world of wine since I was born. I did my first harvest at a very young age with my grandfather in Beaujolais (Domaine du Guérêt in Moulin à Vent), then with my uncle Vincent Bouzereau in Meursault.

During my 5 years at business school (IESEG School of Management), I did a number of internships in wine sales and marketing, including Francis Ford Coppola Winery in California’s Sonoma Valley and at the BIVB (Burgundy Wine Board).

But the first real experience in the world of wine that marked me was my first vinifications during the 2020 vintage, at Edouard Delaunay, our family winery in Burgundy. After I’ve never doubt that I wanted to work in the wine business.

Q:What makes you devoted yourself to the wine and spirits sector?

J.D: This first experience in Edouard Delaunay winery in 2020 made me fall in love with winemaking. I learnt the attention to detail that is so precious in Burgundy : each climat is different and has its own character, and you have to help each wine to express its terroir the best.

Even outside of Burgundy, the exciting thing about wine is that every grape, every plot, every vintage, every winemaker and every bottle is different. You’ll never taste the same wine twice in your life. You’re constantly learning and experiencing in this job.

Also, the world of wine is a world of passion. Everyone I meet in the wine business is passionate, and likes to exchange ideas, discuss new techniques, help each other progress etc… I really like that about the world of wine!

So, I decided to study viticulture and oenology at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune, and this confirmed my passion for winemaking and viticulture.

But, at the end, in addition of being a very exciting job, the most important factor in my passion for wine is the fact that it is a family heritage for me. I’m the sixth generation of Delaunay making wine, so we could say that wine runs in my veins!

Q: What are the main transformations & changes in the industry you have experienced so far?

J.D: My experience is still very short, but I have to say that there are a lot of challenges at stake right now, particularly in the Languedoc region where the Abbotts & Delaunay (the winery I look after) is located. Climate change is definitely the most challenging one. In the Delaunay Vins & Domaines company we’re working every day to adapt and reduce our foot print:

· In the vineyards, by working on using more resilient plant material, adapting our cultivation methods, and promoting biodiversity.

· In the cellar, by experimenting vinification and ageing techniques that enhance freshness and elegance, rationalizing and optimizing our water usage, and reducing our waste.

· In our offices and ware houses, by changing our habits to reduce our electricity consumption, cut our waste…

· In marketing, by rationalizing our packaging to make it eco-friendlier (weight of the bottles, recycled paper, cartons from sustainable forests…)

Q: What do you enjoy most in your career?

J.D: What’s very exciting for me is that my parents have entrusted me with the Maison Abbotts & Delaunay, which is our terroir wine house in the Languedoc (SouthofFrance), comprising two estates, Domaine de la Métairie d’Alon, 25ha in Limoux, and Domaine deLa Lause, 10.5ha in Corbières, and a «négoce» section that I’m currently restructuring.

I’m in complete charge of the business: vineyard management, purchasing, vinification, ageing, marketing, packaging, stock management, sales, profit and loss accounts, etc. It’s an exciting and comprehensive mission that I’ve been carrying out for a year now, and we’ve already had some very nice results. In particular, I’m starting to present my very first cuvée, a rosé made from Pinot Noir from Limoux!

Q: How do you describe the style for your first wine? Are you proud of it?

J.D:  Having joined Abbotts & Delaunay before the 2023 harvest, I have launched my very first cuvée, the Rosé de Pinot Noir« Les Graves»2023 from Domaine de la Métairie d’Alon.

Just as we offer single vineyards of Chardonnayand Pinot Noir on this estate, the’Les Graves’plot inspired me to produce this great terroir Rosé.

This parcel is very special, as it is located at altitude, in a cool corridor, on steep west-facing slopes. The vines, which are grown organically using Burgundian methods, are planted on very stony clay-limestone soil, which gives the wine its minerality.

It was to mean ideal situation to produce a great Roséde Pinot Noir, mineral, elegant and deep. I’m very proud of this Rosé de Pinot Noir, which is completely unique and confidential!

Q: Prior to your current take up in Abbotts & Delaunay, you have had several years of experience in Sonoma, US+ Yarra Valley in Australia and Romanée Conti, Thibault Liger-Belair in Burgundy. What you learnt most from those endeavors?

J.D: I worked for Thibault Liger-Belair for 1 year, and spent a lot of time in the vineyard. It was very instructive and formative for me, because he has a philosophy that is very respectful of the plant and the terroir. So I was able to learn how to work with the plant in a very precise, meticulous and respectful way.

At Domainedela Romanée Conti, I worked for the Vinification 2022, and I learnt a lot from the cellar master. I spent a lot of time tasting the wines with him. I also saw how important it is to pay attention to every detail, I now think that’s where the difference lies between a good estate and a great one.

Finally, at Coldstream Hills Winery, in Australia’s Yarra Valley, I made Syrah for the very first time and that helped me a lot with Domainede La Lause. In fact, I’ve fallen in love with Syrahs from fresh terroirs! I was also able to see the techniques used in Australia, which gave me lots of ideas for optimizing and organizing certain stages in the winemaking process, while improving the quality!

Q:In your previous interview with French media, you mentioned that you were trying to make wines based on Languedoc terroir in Burgundy way. Can you disclose more, how it manifests in your winemaking or viticulture process?

J.D: My aspiration for Abbotts & Delaunay is to turn it into a real little haute couture wine merchant in the Languedoc, based on the Burgundy model:

· In terms of structure: Like the great Burgundy houses (Latour, Bichot, Drouhinetc…), with some of owned vineyards (Domaine de la Métairie d’Alon and Domaine de la Lause) and some “négoce” (buying grapes).

· In terms of philosophy: I’m a great believer in the richness of the terroirs of the Languedoc, which is an extremely vast region with numerous different terroirs! With Abbotts & Delaunay, I want to highlight and promote this diversity of terroirs and their uniqueness.

· In the style of the wines: I want to create great wines that are fresh, elegant and complex.

Q: How much autonomy you have in terms of decision making? Will you take advice from your parents? Who cast more influence on you, your mother or father?

J.D:  I’m completely autonomous with Abbotts & Delaunay. But as I’m still learning, I have the right to ask for advice from all the people I work with, most of them are much more experienced than I am. I talk to them every day, because I respect their opinions and experience.

As far as my parents are concerned, it’s the same state of mind. They let me do what I have to do, but they’re always open to giving me advice when I need it.

For example, when I have to do the blending of the wines, they’re both always there to help me, because they’re both great specialists and I still need their help on this subject. Blending is an art that you learn over time!

Q: Do you think you share the same philosophy of winemaking you’re your parents or it evolved with more personal touch?

J.D: I think that my winemaking style is inevitably influenced by the one of my parents. It was with them that I learnt to taste my first wines and it’s with them that I work on my blends…

There’s a common spirit in our family, even if everyone has their own sensitivities. That’s why we always taste together.

Even so, if I had to describe my winemaking philosophy, I’d say there’s certainly a touch of elegance, freshness and purity.

Q: You also spear head Delaunay Vins & Domaines’CSR policy, and how important that is to you? Does it become critical in Languedoc region, under today’s climate change?

J.D: Our company has always been concerned about its social and environmental impact. But since 2022, we have decided to structure our approach and put in place a genuine CSR policy within the company.

Our policy is based on four pillars that we have named “STEP”.

· SOCIETY: Making our family business a driving force in its sector and its region,

· TEAM: Engaging our employees and passing on our know-how,

· EXCELLENCE: Masteringour processes and innovating to improve customer satisfaction,

· PLANET: Reducing our impact and adapting to climate change.

Since my arrival, I have taken the lead in this approach because it is particularly important to me. As I said earlier, one of the challenges facing winegrowing is climate change, and we’re trying to adapt every day and reduce our impact, both in the Languedoc and in Burgundy.

Q: Apart from Chardonnay & Pinot Noir, which grape variety you would like to experiment in Languedoc?

J.D: With Domainedela Métairied’Alon, we want to prove that it’s possible to make great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Limoux.

On the other hand, with Domaine de La Lause in the Corbières, we have much more Mediterranean grape varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, Carignanand Mourvèdre, which are the traditional red grape varieties in this region of the Languedoc. We also have some very fine 80-year-old Grenache Gris for the whites. I also want to replant Vermentino and Grenache Blanc, which are very refined southern white varieties.

Q: What are the main distinguishing meritsor qualitiesin women attributing to the career success?

J.D: My career is still very short, but for the moment I know that some of my qualities have helped me a lot:

· My great passion for wine, viticulture, tasting and my thirst to learn, particularly at the moment about the terroirs of the Languedoc, I love going in search of hidden nuggets… and I love experimenting new things every vintage (I’m planning several experiments for the 2024 vintage!)

My motivation comes from the fact that I work in my family’s business. I’m the 6th generation and I want to perpetuate the tradition!

Also, the experience and open ness to the world that I have acquired through my studies and my various experiences in Burgundy and abroad. This helps me every day in work.

Q: Any Advice to your peers?

J.D: I think the most important thing is to be driven by passion. In wine, you have to be eager to learn, and you can’t put up any barriers! You have to dare, experiment, sometimes make mistakes, but above all never be afraid to try again!

Also, you’re lucky enough to be able to travel a lot and meet a lot of people in this profession! You have to be eager to meet people, talk to them, try to understand them: their way of life, their tastes, their expectations for consumers, their ideas, their philosophies for our peers, and from that, adapt yourself!

Q: Please name 3 wines you appreciate most.

J.D: It’s hard to choose just three wines, as I loved is covering and tasting wines from many different regions, but here are probably my top 3:

· Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Petits Monts 2019 – Domaine de la Romanée Conti

· Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2017 – Edouard Delaunay

· Underhill Shiraz  2020 – Yarra Yering

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Photo Credit: Jeanne Delaunay