Château Cantenac Brown is a 1855 classified third growth, located in Cantenac within the most prestigious Médoc appellation, Margaux.
The vineyard was founded over 200 years ago by a Scotsman, John Lewis Brown. This visionary figure selected the best parcels of land: his hard work and high standards were rewarded in 1855 when the Bordeaux Classification ranked Cantenac Brown among the most esteemed wineyards.
John Lewis Brown held a deep-seated respect for group and family values. Team spirit ran strong in the veins of this Scotsman who belonged to Clan Broun of Colstoun, whose motto is “Floreat Majestas” (“Let majesty flourish”), hinting at a link with nature as well as the desire to see seeds sown grow and blossom.
His grandson, a famous naturalist painter, spent his childhood at the Château and was inspired by these lands, which he depicted and shared with his friends Degas, Manet, Pissaro and Toulouse-Lautrec. As an incorrigible socialite, he made Cantenac Brown an artistic landmark, at the forefront of impressionism.
A spectacular testimony to its Scottish ancestry: the estate’s emblematic Tudor-style château makes it the most remarkable property in the Médoc region. It seals the estate with the Scottish stamp of Clan Brown and earns it its place in history for eternity.Today the Château is managed by the French family Le Lous. Tristan Le Lous, an agronomist with a passion for oenology, is very involved in managing the estate, together with José Sanfins, who is inextricably linked with the estate’s modern history.
The meeting of this twosome was a pivotal milestone.
From his childhood on an island in the Gironde estuary, José Sanfins has inherited a profound sense of the value of working the land and respect for nature. He puts his heart and soul into pursuing excellence for the estate.Tristan Le Lous, born of a family based in Burgundy, discovered Bordeaux when he met his future wife who introduced him to the region’s wines. He has kept this taste for Bordeaux ever since.
Tristan Le Lous was instantly attracted to the estate, the château and its vines, and the team’s high standards. Tristan Le Lous and José Sanfins share their quest for an ideal balance between nature and culture, and their flavour for sharing this unique heritage.
In 2020, the two men embarked on a spectacular challenge, a form of quest for the absolute, for which the demand for environmental quality was raised to the highest possible level: building a new and unrivalled raw earth cellar.
