Château Margaux is a wine estate in the Margaux appellation, in the Médoc, around thirty kilometres from Bordeaux. Classified as a Premier Grand Cru in 1855, the estate comprises approximately 99 hectares of vineyards in production, comprising 87 hectares of red grape varieties and 12 hectares of white grape varieties. It is owned by the Mentzelopoulos family, with the third generation now at the helm.
- Owner
- Famille Mentzelopoulos — Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos et Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos, copropriétaires
- Maître de chais
- Benjamin Vimal
- Surface (ha)
- 99.00 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- 150000
Histoire du domaine
The Château Margaux estate has been known since the 12th century as ‘la Mothe de Margaux’, though at that time it had no vineyards. Between 1572 and 1582, Pierre de Lestonnac restructured the estate and developed the vineyards, at a time when the Médoc was gradually moving away from cereal farming. By the end of the 17th century, the estate had grown to 265 hectares, an area it has largely retained to this day. After the French Revolution, Bertrand Douat, Marquis de La Colonilla, acquired the estate in 1801 and commissioned the construction of the present château from 1810 onwards, based on plans by the architect Louis Combes. Château Margaux ranks among the top four grands crus classés in the 1855 classification. The estate subsequently weathered the wine-growing crises of the late 19th century, marked in particular by powdery mildew, downy mildew and phylloxera; replanting helped the vineyard to recover. André Mentzelopoulos purchased the estate in 1977 and undertook work in the vineyards and cellars, with advice from the oenologist Émile Peynaud. Upon his death in 1980, his daughter Corinne Mentzelopoulos took over the management of the estate and continued to invest in it. Following a partnership with the Agnelli family in the early 1990s, she bought back the shares held by the Agnelli family in 2003. In 2023, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos became managing director and his sister Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos chair of the holding company’s supervisory board. Since May 2026, Benjamin Vimal has been technical and operations director, responsible for viticultural and oenological operations.
