PARIS, Oct. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Chairman and CEO of family company, Domaine Clarence Dillon, has been honoured as the recipient of the prestigious Wine Spectator Distinguished Service Award. This award is presented to individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the international wine industry.
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On October 19th, Prince Robert of Luxembourg was a featured speaker at the New York Wine Experience, held at the New York Marriott Marquis. His address held special significance as he was presented with the Wine Spectator Distinguished Service Award following more than 30 years of active presence at Domaine Clarence Dillon.
Since 1982, Wine Spectator has recognised exceptional leaders in the wine world with this award, honouring those whose achievements have elevated wine as a source of pleasure, inspiration, and cultural importance.
"I am deeply touched and honoured to receive this distinguished award from Marvin Shanken and his exceptional teams at The Wine Spectator! Representing the 4th generation at the helm of our family wine business, it is particularly moving to be the second generation of my family to receive this honour, given that my mother, Joan de Mouchy, was awarded this distinction here in New York almost exactly twenty years ago.
I dedicate this award to all of our teams in what has become the Domaine Clarence Dillon Group, who have made this award possible, as we have grown from one vineyard as recently as 1983, into a group of companies all excelling in their respective fields of gastronomy, hospitality, retail, wholesale… and of course exceptional wines! We can never rest on our laurels and we need to be up to the task with every client, every vintage and every meal! I salute my immediate family for putting up with a passionate wine nut….and my greater family for entrusting me with the fantastic task of running and developing our exceptional business. Lastly, I would like to extend my extreme gratitude to wine lovers the world over….as my decades of service have been inspired by the desire to always offer you the very best, as we share in our common passion for the magical ethereal response we enjoy when sharing exceptional wines. Thank you!"
H.R.H Prince Robert of Luxembourg
Decades of passion & innovation
The award celebrates over 30 years of Prince Robert's passion and dedication to the development of the Domaine Clarence Dillon family group, founded by his great-grandfather, Clarence Dillon, with the acquisition of Château Haut-Brion in 1935. From an early age, Prince Robert was immersed in the family business, witnessing key milestones such as the acquisition of Château La Mission Haut-Brion at just 15 years old.
Like his grandfather and great-grandfather, Robert of Luxembourg is an ardent art lover. After studying sculpture and a brief career as a screenwriter, Prince Robert set aside his Hollywood ambitions to join the family business. He became deeply involved in the management of Domaine Clarence Dillon taking a full-time position in the summer of 1997, before being named Managing Director in 2002 and eventually Chairman & CEO in 2008.
Prince Robert of Luxembourg has consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence, blending his appetite for innovation with a respect for tradition.
In 2005, Prince Robert created Clarence Dillon Wines, an independent fine wine merchant (Bordeaux négociant). At the same time, he launched Clarendelle, Bordeaux's first "super-premium" family of wines. More recently, in early 2024, Prince Robert of Luxembourg introduced Klara, the exciting new family of organic wines from the South of France.
Under his leadership, Domaine Clarence Dillon further expanded, acquiring three magnificent Saint-Émilion vineyards that would be woven into one to create Quintus, an exceptional right bank estate.
His ambition led to the opening of Le Clarence in November 2015, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris and a three-time honouree on The World's 50 Best Restaurants List. The restaurant is nestled in a magnificent private mansion near the Champs-Élysées. On the ground floor lies the entrance to La Cave du Château, a fine wine shop offering a meticulously curated selection of the best wines and spirits from France's terroirs, which are also available in its online shop (www.lcdc.wine). In 2021, Prince Robert inaugurated a new visitor centre and wine shop at Château Haut-Brion in Pessac (Bordeaux), before opening a fourth shop for La Cave du Château in the heart of Bordeaux, in 2024. Since 2023, Clarendelle and the group's wines have been the official partners of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and are the exclusive red and white wines poured at the Oscars®.
A long-standing tradition of patronage and philanthropy
Domaine Clarence Dillon has long been involved in patronage activities that promote the cultural influence of French heritage and the arts, as well as philanthropic initiatives.
In 2009, Prince Robert encouraged his family to take a pioneering role in the creation of La Cité du Vin, the world's first comprehensive cultural centre dedicated to the international culture and art of wine. This vision became a reality in June 2016 with the opening of La Cité du Vin. With Prince Robert's leadership, the Dillon family foundation became one of the four founding members of the Cité. From its outset, Robert of Luxembourg was a member of the board of Directors and named President of the Cultural Committee. Additionally, Prince Robert played a key role as a founding Board member of the American Friends of La Cité du Vin.
Internationally, Domaine Clarence Dillon assists young talents every year through the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation and also supports causes related to health (Sidaction), human rights (Human Rights Watch) and the environment (One Drop, The Nature Conservancy) and more. The family company also continues the tradition of patronage dear to its founder by recently supporting parts of the restoration of the Grand Palais in Paris. In recognition of this support, the VIP entrance of the rotunda of the Grand Palais, facing the Pont Alexandre III, was re-named the Clarence Dillon Rotunda.
Prince Robert is also an active Board member of two US based family foundations that were set up by his great-grandfather and grandfather and have been able to support worthy international causes over generations.
In 2021, Prince Robert, his wife Princess Julie and their son Frederik, created The PolG Foundation, a United-States non-profit charity 501C3, dedicated to accelerating research for effective treatments and finding a cure for PolG mitochondrial disorders. Frederik was diagnosed with this rare genetic disease as a young man, and has been keen to turn his significant challenges into a force for good to help others like him. The Foundation is working with top scientists, the world over, in order to ensure that they are able to reach their goals and accomplish their mission. https://polgfoundation.org/
Building a sustainable future
In October 2018, Prince Robert of Luxembourg and Domaine Clarence Dillon joined Primum Familiae Vini (PFV), an international association of the world's finest wine-producing families, completing its 12-member group. PFV celebrates the exceptional contributions of family estates in renowned wine regions and represents excellence in winemaking and the continuity of long family traditions-values cherished by Domaine Clarence Dillon. Robert de Luxembourg is slated to take on the presidency of this organization, starting in the summer of 2025.
A major construction and renovation project is currently underway at Château Haut-Brion, led by architect Annabelle Selldorf in collaboration with local architects A3A. This discreet "rammed earth" structure is designed to refocus visual attention on the original Château while becoming the first entirely carbon-neutral facility among the First Growth estates of Bordeaux. The new facilities will feature walls made from blocks moulded from Haut-Brion's own alluvial soils. Inside, the space will house not only new winemaking facilities but also the Château Haut-Brion Library-a unique collection of artefacts, antique wine tools, an expanding collection of menus, letters, documents, and one of the world's finest and largest collections of antiquarian books on wine and gastronomy. Like its growing art collection, this rare and exceptional Library, assembled under the leadership of Prince Robert, is the result of an extensive international quest to bring together these invaluable treasures that are all inspired by Chateau Haut-Brion's 2000-year wine making heritage. The new facilities will be open to the public from 2026.
Some of Annabelle Selldorf's recent projects include the Frick Collection in New York, The National Gallery in London and parts of the LUMA foundation in Arles France.
After beginning his career in London, in order to understand the most important fine wine market in the world, Prince Robert, Princess Julie, and their family moved to Switzerland in 2004, where they raised and educated their three children and where they live surrounded by beautiful wine country to this day.
Prince Robert of Luxembourg's being awarded The Wine Spectator Distinguished Service Award highlights his steadfast dedication to quality and innovation in the wine industry but also his continued philanthropic, social and cultural engagement at Domaine Clarence Dillon and beyond.
Contact:
Cécile Riffaud / Eline Huet / Tatianna Thurik / mail: contact@domaineclarencedillon.com
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