Through the generations and through the centuries, the skillfulness of one and the innovations of others, gradually made Château Margaux into a wine of excellence; we only have to remember the progress made by Steward Berlon at the very beginning of the XVIII century.
In 1705, the London Gazette advertised the first auction of the Bordeaux first growths: 230 barrels of “Margose”! The 1771 vintage was the first “claret” to appear in a Christie’s catalogue.
Bertrand Douat, Marquis de la Colonilla, acquired the estate and judged the manor house not to be worthy of the renown of his vineyard. In his place, he built the property that we so appreciate today.
Emperor Napoleon III paid an important service to the great red wines of the Médoc by organizing in Paris, in 1855, the Second Universal Exhibition. It was an opportunity for him to glorify French products, among which were the prestigious Médoc wines.
Fernand Ginestet and his son Pierre came on the scene. Fernand had made his fortune in wine trading. It was one of his friends, the Mayor of Saigon, and a wine importer who sent him the funds necessary to buy the estate. The Ginestet family acquired the entire property in about 1950.
It was in 1977 that André Mentzelopoulos bought the property. The ionic columns that adorn the peristyle of the château reminded him of his native Greece and enabled him to grasp, thanks to his formidable intellectual acuity, the great volume of work required to bring Margaux back to first place, the only place that it was worthy of.
Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Chief Executive Officer for 43 years of the holding company which owns Château Margaux, has decided on the 18th of October 2023 to retire and hand over the reins to her son Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos.
Her daughter Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos will become President of the Supervisory Board.
Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos and Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos are the third generation of the Mentzelopoulos family at the helm of Château Margaux.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, André Mentzelopoulos, his mother Corinne and his sister Alexandra, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos joined the family estate at the beginning of 2020 as Business Development Director. For the past two years, he has served as Deputy General Manager in charge of Strategy and Development.
Alexandra, on the other hand, was Deputy General Manager in charge of Communication since 2016.
