Where does wine meet Hollywood royalty? At the American Cinematheque Award ceremony! (And in some of our favorite movies and TV series.) On Feb. 16 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-winning performer Dame Helen Mirren became the 37th recipient of the award, which celebrates artistic accomplishments in motion pictures. Staying within tradition, the Barbie and F9 star autographed a special-edition magnum of Bordeaux during the event, which also honored producer-entrepreneur Kevin Goetz and his entertainment research-analytics company Screen Engine/ASI.
Specifically, Mirren signed a bottle of 2016 Château Malartic-Lagravière engraved with her name. As in past years, the Bonnie family (owners of Pessac-Léognan’s Château Malartic-Lagravière and Argentina’s Bodega Diamandes) were wine sponsors for the festivities. Malartic estate co-owner Véronique Bonnie presented the magnum and brought the château’s 2019 white and 2013 red for guests to enjoy at the cocktail reception and gala dinner.
“Helen Mirren belongs to these iconic actresses that have had such a long career embracing so many complex yet different roles,” Bonnie told Wine Spectator via email, noting how impressively Mirren speaks French. “And as you know, the wines of Bordeaux have had strong ties to our English friends.”
The bottle will remain at the Malartic estate, where it will sit alongside magnums autographed by past American Cinematheque honorees, “to remind us that giving is an important part of our company and our culture,” Bonnie explained. Coinciding with the new addition, Malartic made a donation to Mirren’s preferred charitable organization, Meals on Wheels West.
“[Mirren’s husband, Taylor Hackford,] explained to us the amount of work and detail Helen puts in preparing every single one of her roles,” Bonnie recalled. “At Malartic, we are also constantly striving for quality and precision, paying attention to every detail and knowing that we do work [to] transmit the legacy of our estate and terroir.”
This is not the first time Malartic has had a red-wine carpet moment. Beyond its American Cinematheque appearances, the château was the wine sponsor for the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It also promoted Kenneth Brannagh’s latest Hercule Poirot thriller, A Haunting in Venice, and its wine had an on-screen part in the preceding film, Death on the Nile, along with appearances in Taken II (written by vintner Robert Kamen) and on Netflix series Emily in Paris.
“Wine and cinema have in common that they involve a large number of dedicated people working together for many months, each [person] crucial to the final success of the project, nothing being left to chance,” said Bonnie. “They allow people to live an emotional experience, creating moments shared and aimed at aging with us.”
Bordeaux Wine and Hollywood: Malartic-Lagravière at the American Cinematheque Awards
Helen Mirren is not the first American Cinematheque Award recipient to sign a bottle of Malartic-Lagravière Bordeaux. In 2022, Véronique Bonnie brought a magnum for actor, philanthropist and football club owner Ryan Reynolds to sign. In 2021, Scarlet Johansson left her autograph on an engraved bottle. And Mirren’s fellow F9 star Charlize Theron was the first honoree to sign a Malartic-Lagravière magnum back in 2019.
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