The first traces of Château Margaux can be found in the 12th century, when it was called Château Mothe de Margaux. In the 17th century, the estate was named Château Margaux and covered 265 hectares. In the 18th century, Berlon, then at the head of the Château, developed a new winemaking technique which consisted in separating the white grapes from the red grapes to create two distinct wines, which gave the wine a better taste. Unfortunately, during the French revolution, the estate was completely ransacked. The château was later taken over by Bertrand Douat, Marquis of Spain, and then by Alexandre Aguado, a wealthy banker. In 1855, Napoleon III organised the Classification of the First Great Growths and the Grand Vin of Château Margaux received a score of 20/20. The second part of the 19th century was not good for the château, as it had to cope with the invasion of fungi and insects destroying part of its vines. The year 1893 marks the end of this invasion with the creation of a Vintage.
At the end of the 19th century, in 1896, Pierre Moreau, who was then a cellar master, took over the reins of the company. One of his greatest inventions was the compulsory bottling in 1924. The Ginestet family took over the business in 1950 and undertook a major reorganisation of the vineyard. The vintages of 70, 72, 73 and 74 were unfortunately not good and the family sold Château Margaux in 1977 to a famous Greek man named André Mentzelopoulos. The latter invested massively in the vineyard, in the château but also in the winery, with the aim of reviving Château Margaux. The wager was successful, because only one year later, in 1978, Château Margaux offered a new vintage.
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A real star of the auction houses, the Château Margaux Grand Vin always makes good bids. We very regularly put Château Margaux wines up for sale.
If you would like to include a batch of Château Margaux wine, please do not hesitate to contact Marion QUESNE, head of the Wines & Spirits department at Aguttes.
