The Lawtons | Alain Blondy

Few families from Bordeaux can pride themselves on having a quay named after them. However, this is the case for the Lawtons, an Irish family who settled in Bordeaux in 1739 to develop their wine brokerage business. Deeply involved in the life of their city, they have left a discreet yet significant mark, illustrating how this city has been a crossroads of Europe and commerce. This dynasty lacked a narrative of their journey far from the island to which they remained attached. Historian Alain Blondy, a passionate and meticulous researcher, has delved into the lives of these men and women: marriages, illnesses, crises in the vineyard, commercial successes, encounters, and wars punctuate these centuries of intense activity. Among them stands out Daniel Lawton, from the sixth generation, who composed Memoirs, a valuable source for understanding from within the nuances of a milieu and the commitments of a lifetime. Through this exploration of the private and the public, we discover an implicit political portrait of our country, with the illustrious characters and prominent figures that this engaged family encountered. It is also a certain history of Bordeaux, the secret history of the wine world, that remains to be unveiled.