To better demonstrate Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, this intimate relationship between the two wine-growing continents is illustrated through interlinked portraits of four major wine families, from many and varied backgrounds. Despite their differences, these families share an entrepreneurial spirit and a real passion for the civilization of wine, the land, for wine in its hedonistic and cultural dimensions.
The documentary highlights prestigious names, renowned properties at the origin of some of the world’s best wines. The owners featured in the documentary, appearing as themselves, are indeed the real actors in this film.
Dillon family:
With HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg (CEO of Domaine Clarence Dillon)
Tesseron family:
With Alfred Tesseron (owner, father)
With Justine Tesseron (co-owner, daughter)
With Noé Tesseron (co-owner, son)
With Matthieu Bessonnet (technical director, Château Pontet-Canet)
Lurton family:
With Claire Villars-Lurton (owner, wife of Gonzague Lurton)
With Gonzague Lurton (owner, husband of Claire Villars-Lurton)
With Léopold Valentin (technical director, Château Durfort-Vivens)
With Thomas Bontemps (technical director, Château Haut-Bages Libéral)
With Nicolas Vonderheyden (technical director, Acaibo Trinity Estate)
Adams family:
With Denise Adams (owner)
With Hakima Dib (manager, Château Fonplégade)
With Romain Gonzalez (technical director, Château Fonplégade)
With Alberto Bianchi (winemaker, ADAMVS Estate)
Other influential US personalities.
Two major participants – featuring here as Guest Stars – did the honor of receiving the team in the United States during filming in early November 2021. Their accounts, providing additional insight into the investigation, are essential to understanding what unites Bordeaux wines and the United States, Thomas Jefferson’s influence on contemporary Bordeaux winemaking, and the American market’s love for Bordeaux wines.
Managing Director Emeritus, Epstein Becker & Green / President of the Board of the American Friends of the Cité du Vin (AFCDV)
This outstanding wine connoisseur, and leading New York lawyer, heads the “American Friends of the Cité du Vin”, an association bringing together wealthy American families passionate about wine and which regularly organizes and finances events in Bordeaux as well as in the United States. A close friend of Prince Robert of Luxembourg, he is a patron and fund manager in New York. In particular, helped by members of the association, he raised the funds to finance the Thomas Jefferson auditorium at the Cité du Vin.
Since its inception in 2009, the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux has thus had support from American wine lovers, including the Adams family (Denise and Stephen Adams) and HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg, whose Dillon family is a patron of honor for its substantial support during the development of the Cité du Vin.
International critic specializing in Bordeaux wines from 1978 to 2017, Founder of the famous Wine Advocate and its owner until 2012.
A lawyer by training, Robert Parker is an undisputed authority, a wine encyclopedia known for 40 years for his commentaries on wines, and instigator of the revolutionary 100-point rating system. He quickly resonated with consumers around the world, with his comments on the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux helping to build the legend. He tasted the wines “en primeur”, when most of them were still in barrel (the principle of primeur tastings). He found them superb, unlike other critics at the time, particularly English-speaking ones.Justly admired and sometimes feared throughout his career, Robert Parker has left an undeniable mark on Bordeaux and other wines of the world, as the impact of his contribution as an opinion-former was colossal for the reputation of wines on international markets. He sold the Wine Advocate in 2012, continuing to be active until 2017 when he finally decided to enjoy a well-deserved retirement.
