Château Margaux is a winery in the Haut-Médoc appellation of Bordeaux wines. It was first classified as a Second Grand cru classé (French, “Second Growth”) in 1955 and promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé (First Growth) status in 1973. While the history of the Château Margaux does date back to the 11th century, and wines from this estate did appear on the table of Richard the Lion Heart, King of England, the real story doesn’t start until La Mothe de Margaux was bought by the Lestonnac family. It was Pierre de Lestonnac who restructured the property and cleared away the cereal crops in favour of creating larger vineyards. It was this move that paid off as the estate’s wines became known for their quality. Château Margaux was one of the first vineyards to adopt modern vinification techniques, which was something that put it in good stead when phylloxera hit France. At the time, wines from Château Margaux were favoured by royalty and other nobility who could afford them, thus helping to keep this estate afloat while many others went under. The wines from Château Margaux have developed a reputation of being among the finest in the world, with wine experts rating them amongst some of the best.
The Château Margaux French wine estate is currently owned by Corinne Mentzelopoulos, the daughter of André Mentzelopoulo, who bought it in 1976 and is responsible for some of its more recent changes. He has consolidated vineyards to make production easier; he also improved the winery building with modern equipment (including a new press), increased storage capacity so they can now hold up to 800,000 litres per year, and brought on the services of oenologist Émile Peynaud. This resulted in a number of exceptional vintages, particularly the 1978 and 1979, and cemented Château Margaux’s reputation as one of the best wine produces in the world.
The 262 hectares of the estate are entitled to the Margaux AOC declaration and grow a mix of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, with 2% Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Unlike many other vineyards in Bordeaux, Château Margaux reserves 12 hectares to grow Sauvignon blanc, with which they produce around 35,000 bottles of the dry white, Pavillon Blanc. The rest of the crop is used to create an average of around 150,000 bottles of their Grand Vin, Château Margaux and 200,000 bottles of their second wine Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux.
