Badet Clément returns to its roots with the renaming of Delaunay - Harpers Wine & Spirits News.

The historic French company Badet Clément will once again be known as Delaunay, after a "happy twist" allowed the family to buy back the name lost three decades ago.

A company with a long history in France, with its origins going back to 1893 in Burgundy, when the company was known as Edouard Delaunay, after its founder. In 1993, the family had to sell this part of the business after the illness of the father Laurent Delaunay. Laurent and his wife Catherine then moved to the Languedoc in 1995 and created a company from scratch called Badet Clément, which initially produced vintage and parcours wines only from the Languedoc.

The oenologists Laurent (Edouard's great-grandson) and Catherine Delaunay have announced that they will be renaming themselves Delaunay Vins & Domaines. The changes were announced at an event in Paris, where the couple also announced that their daughter Jeanne, the sixth generation of Delaunay winemakers, will work alongside them as the company's third family winemaker. She will lead their premium langedoc brand Abbotts &

"In Delaunay Vins & Domaines we finally have a name that not only consistently reflects the image of all our brands, our wines and our domains, but also legitimately combines our joint and rather rare identity as Languedocians and Burgundians, which is very important to us," said Laurent Delaunay.

"With the arrival of our daughter Jeanne in the business, we have not only renamed ourselves but also restructured the company to focus on our three main brands, Les Jamelles and Abbotts & Delaunay from Languedoc and Edouard Delaunay in Burgundy, each now headed by a family winemaker, respectively Catherine, Jeanne and myself," he added.

"It seems that the circle has now finally closed, and as our Badet Clément chapter closes, the story of Delaunay Vins & Domaines begins.

As the new face of Abbotts & Delaunay, Jeanne Delaunay will be actively involved not only in the vinification of the wines, but also in the strategic approach and marketing of the brand. She will bring valuable hands-on winemaking experience to the table, including working at Francis Ford Coppola's winery in Sonoma, as well as Thibault Liger-Belair and Romanée Conti, closer to her native Burgundy.

She will also work on Delaunay Vins & Domaines' corporate social responsibility policy, which has been a focus of the company over the past decade.

Jeanne said: "I am delighted to join Delaunay Vins & Domaines while also recognizing the responsibility of leading such a successful brand as Abbotts & Delaunay.

"My main objectives for the brand are to continue to develop the style of these high-end wines, created in the exceptional terroirs of the Languedoc, but in the style of Burgundy. "

Four decades since Delaunay Vins & Domaines was founded, it has a turnover of 64 million euros, selling 15 million bottles and exporting to more than 55 countries.