Recognizing the power of wine to both preserve tradition and influence change, Wine Spectator honored Prince Robert de Luxembourg—president of Domaine Clarence Dillon, the family-owned company behind Châteaus Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion and Quintus—toward the end of the 2024 New York Wine Experience.
Executive editor emeritus Thomas Matthews, who profiled Prince Robert in 2021, praised the screenwriter-turned-vintner as “a custodian of tradition and a cultural visionary.” He presented Robert with the 2024 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) in honor of his leadership in the worlds of wine, philanthropy and medical research.
From Hollywood to Haut-Brion
In 1993, Robert’s mother, Joan Dillon—who won the DSA in 2005—asked him to return to Europe from Hollywood to join the family business. (As Matthews noted, Robert is the first second-generation DSA winner.) Upon his return, he dedicated himself to improving the quality of the wine at Haut-Brion and La Mission Haut-Brion, the latter of which his mother bought in 1983. Beginning in 2011, he expanded into Bordeaux’s Right Bank, where he combined several estates to form Quintus.
Robert shared the Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2000, which displayed the exuberant majesty that great Bordeaux can achieve in maturity. Somewhat unusually, he requested that the wine not be decanted and that it be opened shortly before serving. Judging by the enthusiastic applause of the crowd, his decision paid off. Robert’s deep affection for the estate was evident as he tasted the wine, which he called “rather extraordinary” and “one of the first perfect wines” made by Domaine Clarence Dillon after he joined full-time in 1997.
A Passion for Philanthropy
Beyond making great wines, Robert is also a dedicated philanthropist and community builder. He helped found the Cité du Vin cultural center in Bordeaux. In 2021, he and his wife, Julie, created the PolG Foundation alongside their son, Frederik, who was diagnosed with a rare PolG-related mitochondrial disease in 2016. Robert has auctioned thousands of rare bottles straight from his personal cellar to support the foundation.
Robert cited the need to “revisit and renew on a regular basis,” even at a 2,000-year-old property. He’s particularly proud that, in 2026, Haut-Brion will become the first carbon-neutral first-growth estate following extensive renovation and construction, including new winemaking facilities, by architect Annabelle Selldorf. And next year, he will assume the presidency of Primum Familiae Vini, which is dedicated to helping family wine companies (and, with its PFV Prize, companies beyond wine) succeed over generations.
Beyond these endeavors, Robert highlighted the success of his family’s restaurant in Paris, Le Clarence, as well as Haut-Brion’s new library of antiquarian wine and gastronomy books, which will be open to researchers in 2026.
Behind the dedication, care and passion Robert brings to his projects is a spirit of service and generosity that shone in both his remarks and his wine. He ended with a fitting motto for the entire Wine Experience: “When you have a passion for wine, you have a passion for sharing, and you have a passion for having an open heart to the outside world.”
