Chateau Margaux

The history of Chateau Margaux stretches back to the 12th Century, there were not yet any vines， this predates the construction of the building that we see today by about seven centuries. At this time it was in the ownership of French nobility, and was known La Mothe de Margaux; 'La Mothe' comes from motte, meaning a small rise in the land.
From 1572 to 1582,the domain in completely restructuring the property and in so doing anticipated the future development of the Medoc which was to start abandoning the cultivation of cereal crops in favor of vines.
By the end of the 17th century, Chateau Marguax covered 265 hectares (654 acres), a surface area which it never abandoned thereafter, a third of which was devoted to vine-growing, as is the case today. The early 18th Century saw more improvements of considerable significance at Chateau Margaux, led principally by the estate manager Berlon (whose first name has never been found). He was the first to vinify red grapes and white grapes separately-the red and white vines at that time were mixed in the same plot. He also insisted that the grapes should not be harvested in the early morning. The first beginnings of modern vinification were already appearing. Berlon also understood the importance of soils, as he already knew the best plots. The influence of terroir was also starting to appear…These changes may at first seem surprising, as today they sound like common sense, but at the time these were brave new ideas.
In 1705, the London Gazette offered the first sale of great Bordeaux wines: 230 barrels of “Margoose”! The renown of the “first growths” spread across the Atlantic, and Thomas Jefferson, the United States ambassador to France, described the hierarchy already established among the best wines of Bordeaux, with Chateau Margau (sic) in first position. He placed an order of Margaux 1784 of which he wrote, “There cannot be a better bottle of Bordeaux”.
Joseph de Fumel, the owner in the middle of the 18th century, planted “select grape varieties” in his best plots. But the French Revolution brought this golden century for Bordeaux to an end, and Elie du Barry, the count of Hargicourt and lord of Margaux, was taken to the scaffold by the Jacobin terror, Chateau Margaux, its vines, woods, fields, mills, were all sold by the revolutionaries by auction as National Property. It was subsequently rescued from total dilapidation by Laure de Fumel, Joseph's niece, she was the last descendant of the Lestonnac, Pontac and Audele families, all of whom were related and who had carefully watched over Margaux for three centuries. But the years of revolution got the better of her courage and passion for her lands, which she put up for auction in 1801. The purchaser was, Bertrand Douat, a Basque, who had come from Spain with a considerable fortune and the title of Marquis de la Colonilla. In reality, he was not very interested in wine, and Chateau Margaux was for him a means of climbing higher up the social ladder. To that effect, the gothic manor which had replaced the old castle on the estate, and it was torn down and replaced with the grand chateau, as designed by the leading architect of the day, Louis Combes. And this building, which still stands today, was Colonilla's only major contribution to Margaux. Building work started in 1810, when La Colonilla was already 70 years old; he died in 1836 without ever having lived in his chateau.
De La Colonilla’s children were not interested in the estate and sold it to Alexandre Aguado, the Marquis de Las Marismas, a true Spaniard, unlike De La Colonilla! At that time, Aguado was the first banker to purchase a great Bordeaux chateau. Unlike Colonilla, Aguado regarded Margaux as a residence and he had a deep interest in the estate and its wines. Aguado and his family saw the estate through the powdery mildew crisis of the 19th Century, and the 1855 classification, when it should go without saying that Margaux was comfortably ranked as a first growth. In the 1855 classification, only four growths were ranked “First Great Classified Growth”, and Margaux was the only one to be marked 20 out of 20. He abandoned his financial activities quite quickly in order to become, among other things, the patron of Rossini, who went on to compose a zarzuela called… “Chateau Margaux”!
In 1879, Emily Macdonnel, a Scottish lady-in waiting of the Empress Eugenie and the wife of the son of Aguado, sold the chateau to the count Pillet-Will. The production of Chateau Marguax gradually returned to normal with the new spray and plantations, and the 1893, which was a remarkable vintage, was so abundant that the harvest had to be interrupted because there were not enough vats! The young vine plants coming from the new plantations, however, did not allow the estate to produce grapes of optimal quality, and so a part of the production was sold as a “second wine”, which was to be the future “Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux”. In 1896, Pillet-Will found a man he could trust, in the person of Pierre Moreau, who would soon play a leading role at Margux. When Pillet-Will died, the estate went to his son-in-law, the Duke de la Troille, who had nevertheless been elected as a radical left wing Member of Parliament for Gironde. However, he lost his seat in the 1910 election, which perhaps incited him to neglect his estate to help him forget about his ungrateful electorate, the estate suffered serious neglect. It was the wine broker, Pierre Moreau, the man trusted by De la Troille, who formed a committee of purchasing shareholders in order to take over the ownership and running of Margaux. The most important innovation introduced by Pierre Moreau was the compulsory bottling of the wine at the chateau. It was adopted in 1924 and became a true guarantee of authenticity for buyers. The economic crisis of the 1930s and the disastrous vintages of this decade destabilized the shareholders and momentarily put an end to the principle of compulsory chateau bottling, which only re-appeared after 1949.

The Ginestet family bought the totality in 1950. But the 1970’s recession and the disastrous, unsaleable vintages of 1972, 1973 and 1974 put Pierre and Bernard into a desperate situation. They nevertheless wished to honor their commitments. Their only negotiable asset was Chateau Margaux, which they resigned themselves to selling. This is the point at which the Mentzelopoulos family enters the fray.
“A Greek in the Medoc”, was the headline of a laudatory article in the Le Monde newspaper. When Andre bought the estate in 1977, causing a shock wave around the wine world. He made spectacular moves: in the vineyard, where better drainage was introduced and new plantations made; in the cellars, under the supervision of the oenologist Emile Peynaud, Pavillon Rouge was reintroduced with a considerable increase in selection; new oak barrels were used to age the wine, plans were drawn up for the first great cellar in the region to be built underground (a technical feat), and Pavillon Blanc was redefined.
Andre Mentzelopoulos died in 1980, too young and too quickly for him to be able to enjoy the revival of his Chateau Margaux. His daughter, Corinne Mentzelopoulos, was also to take up the challenge. Supported by the whole team at the estate, as well as the oenologist, Emile Peynaud, Corinne set about her work, without any career training to prepare her for working in wine, and immediately took passionately to the cause of Marguax. In 1983, Paul Pontallier, an agricultural engineer with a doctorate in oenology, joined the Margaux team (and the professional world at the same time), becoming the director in the place of Philippe Barr- Who was leaving Margaux to retire. He has also been instrumental in the quest for even greater wines from the hallowed terroir that surrounds the chateau. The strengthening of the estate management team in 1990 with the arrival of Philippe Bascaules, an agricultural engineer, like Paul Pontallier, and the recruiting in 2000 of a research and development manager, are moves in this direction: to be worthy of the history of Chateau Margaux whilst progressing in the minutest details, so as never to disappoint wine enthusiasts anywhere in the world.
Today the wines that bear the distinctively elegant label of Chateau Margaux are without doubt some of the greatest wines of all Bordeaux, showing finesse, perfume, concentration and longevity.

Nowadays’ Owner and CEO:
Corinne Mentzelopoulos
Technical Information
Location: Chateau Margaux is located in the commune of Margaux, Bordeaux.
Appellation: Appellation Margaux Controlee
Neighboring Chateau: Chateau Rauzan-Segla(2nd Growth of Margaux in 1855)

Pavillon Rouge du Chateau Margaux(Second Label):
Cellar Humidity and Temperature:75 to 80%, an average temperature of 14° (57°F) is "ideal"
Serving Temperature: 18 ℃-19 ℃
Optimum Drinking and Ageing Potential:
Food match:
Western Food: Roasted Duck Breasts with a Port Wine Sauce, Sauteed Broccoli Rapini, Deep Fried Leeks

Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux(White Wine):
Cellar Humidity and Temperature: 75 to 80%, an average temperature of 14° (57°F) is "ideal"
Serving Temperature: between 10° and 13°C
Optimum Drinking and Ageing Potential:
Food match:
Western Food: Rich seafood and poultry dishes make the obvious food matches, but the wines often feature a refreshing edge of acidity making them pleasant as aperitifs.

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