Europe’s Most Famous Wine Dynasties Just Released an Ultra-Limited Case

Only a dozen exist in the entire world. 

Founded in 1992 by Miguel Torres and Robert Drouhin to promote the exchange of ideas, its members include Domaine Clarence Dillon (Château Haut-Brion), Famille Perrin (Chateau de Beaucastel) and Alsace’s Famille Hugel, as well as Sassicaia makers Tenuta San Guido, the Douro’s Symington family, Riesling specialists Egon Müller and Tuscany’s 26^th-generation winemakers Marchesi Antinori.

Earlier this week, all 12 descended on the Paris’s Grand Palais for the launch of the PFV Generations Case, an ultra-limited-edition case of 12 wines – one from each family. Treats in the coffret include a 2016 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a 2004 Vega Sicilia Unico, and a Champagne Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2002 (which the house’s 6^th-generation ambassador Bastien Collard de Billy was pouring on the night, and I can report tasted absolutely stellar). To sweeten the deal, each case also includes a VIP visit to every estate, some of which aren’t open to the public. The case is priced at €32,000 and only a dozen have been created.

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Considering the calibre of the wines – and many of the guests – that night, the atmosphere was remarkably convivial. Everyone got stuck into pouring their wines and several also had their (grown-up) children in tow.

“There is a camaraderie between us that is precious and unique. It’s a great forum for discussing our concerns,” said Drouhin’s winemaker Véronique Boss-Drouhin as she poured a magnum of Joseph Drouhin Corton-Charlemagne 2011. “In the past the hot topic was transmission [of the business down the generations]; right now, it’s climate change. Next, we’ll be asking: how do we bring AI into it?”

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“We’re all incredible friends,” agreed Alessia Antinori, who succeeds Clarence Dillon’s Prince Robert of Luxembourg as PFV president in July. “We share common values and we’re also really interested in getting the next generation involved.” It was great to see so many women in top roles – something, Antinori acknowledged, that was much less common in traditional family businesses just a few decades ago.

The incoming generation are also more inquisitive about wines and wine regions outside their immediate vicinity, perhaps more so than they were before, said Jean-Frédéric Hugel. “Visiting all the different PFV members, in their different wine regions, is fantastic boot camp for future wine owners.”

In a bid to celebrate family-owned business, PFV also sponsors a bi-annual prize recognizing inter-generational artisans. The new Generations Case features a habillage (or outer wrapping) made by 2023’s winner Brun de Vian-Tiran, an 8^th-generation French fine-wool manufacturer so dedicated to its craft it even has its own herd of 25,000 Arles Merino Antique sheep. 

At the launch I also spoke to Takuya Tsutsui, who was representing this year’s winner Tsutsumi Asakichi Urushi, a lacquer-maker from Japan, that fuses traditional techniques with innovations including a UV-resistant lacquer recipe. Clad in a spiffy checked blazer, bowtie, and ponytail, Tsutsui showed me a skateboard he had embellished with red lacquer and delicate gold paint work. If that isn’t craft redefined for the next generation, I don’t know what is. 

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Wines included in the PFV generation case:

Tenuta San Guido – Sassicaia, 2017

Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese, 2001

Symington Family Estates Graham’s The Stone Terraces, 2011

Marchesi Antinori – Solaia, 2010

Maison Joseph Drouhin – Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche, 2018

Champagne Pol Roger – Sir Winston Churchill, 2002

Familia Torres – Grans Muralles, 2018

Tempos Vega Sicilia – Vega Sicilia Único, 2004

Famille Hugel – Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles, 2009

Baron Philippe de Rothschild – Château Mouton Rothschild, 2016

Domaine Clarence Dillon – Château Haut-Brion, 2015

Famille Perrin – Hommage à Jacques Perrin, 2009

The PFV Generation Case is available exclusively through PFV.