The 5 Greatest Wine Châteaux of Bordeaux

Château Lafite Rothschild

Château Lafite Rothschild enjoys world renown. It is the premiere, most consistent producer of one of the world's most expensive red wines, a First Growth proprietary blend. The historic Bordeaux wine estate is situated in the Medoc region in the famous wine-producing village of Pauillac. Originally established in 1234 as Château Lafite by Gombaud de Lafite, whose mansion still stands, the estate was purchased in the 17th century by the Segur family, and in the the early 19th century by the Vanlerberghe family; until in 1868 it was acquired by the banking family of Baron James Mayer Rothschild for a reputed 4.4 million francs. Subsequently, the estate became Château Lafite Rothschild.

Typically, Château Lafite Rothschild vintages fetch the highest prices in the world, and have proved to be hugely profitable for wine investors. Its 2000 and 2005 vintages are now being auctioned for more than $16,000 per case. The record price for a bottle of wine from the estate was $156,000 for a 1787 Château Lafite.

Château Margaux

Château Margaux, once also known as La Mothe de Margaux, is another world-class premier cru (first growth) wine producer of the world's most expensive wines. The estate is situated in the commune of Margaux in the Medoc region, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary in the departement of Gironde. It was originally established in the 12th century with a fortified castle known as La Mothe (derived from the word, motte, meaning a small rise of land). Hence its name, La Mothe de Margaux.

Château Margaux' wine associations date back to the 15th century, although it was firmly established as a wine estate in the mid to late 16th century with the arrival of Lestonnac family. Ownership of the estate remained in the family until the mid 18th century, following which it saw a succession of ownerships, including the Marquis de la Colonilla Bertrand Douat and Spanish nobleman Alexandre Aguada; until in 1976 it passed into the hands of the Mentzelopoulos family.

Château Margaux has the distinction of producing the first claret to be sold at an auction at Christie's. That was in 1771. It has the added distinction of being the producer of the most expensive bottle of wine ever broken. And that was a bottle of Château Margaux 1787, insured at $225,000.

Château Latour

In the world of wine, Château Latour has stature. It is easily among the great wineries of France, and one of the five prestigious first growth wine producers in the Bordeaux region. Also situated in the Medoc region in the commune of Pouillac, it was originally established as an estate in 1378, but with a tower that dated further back, to 1331, and which subsequently rebuilt in the 1620s. The tower came to be known as La Tour de Saint-Lambert (The Tower of Saint Lambert). Vineyards were first planted here in the 14th century, and the estate took its name from the tower, La Tour, combined into Latour, which remains the symbol of the vineyard.

The most significant owners of the Latour estate have been the Segur family, who held it, with brief lapses, for nearly three centuries, from 1670 until 1963. British ownership of the estate then prevailed for nearly three decades, until being returned to the French in 1993.

Château Latour produces but three wines – in all! – most famously its Grand Vin de Château Latour. It has 78 hectares (190 acres) of vineyards, 47 hectares of which, nearest to the chateau, are devoted exclusively to the production of the grand vin – a blend, typically, of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and small lots of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A second wine from Latour is Les Forts de Latour, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Case lots are small, and prices in the stratosphere.

Château Haut-Brion

Château Haut-Brion, one of Bordeaux' grand five, producer of wines rated Premier Cru Classe (first growth), breaks the mold in its geographic location. It is the only one of the five first growths to be labeled under the Pessac-Leognan appellation.

The Château Haut-Brion estate dates back to 1525 (the château was built in 1549), although grape-growing on the property goes further back, to Roman times. The principal founder of the estate was Jean de Pontac, with a succession of unsuccessful owners following; until in 1935 American banker Clarence Dillon acquired Château Haut-Brion, and there it has remained, in the Dillon family.

Château Haut-Brion's principal offering is its gran vin, but in 2007, in connection with the Clarence Dillon family ownership, the estate released a red second wine, Le Clarence de Haut Brion.

Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild's red wine of the same same is famous the world over as one of the greatest clarets ever made. Still, the vineyard is the newest entrant in Bordeaux's Premier Cru group, gaining First Growth status in 1973, more than a century after the others. It, too, is located in the village of Pouillac in the Medoc region, some 50 km (30 miles) northwest of Bordeaux.

Originally established as Chateau Brane-Mouton, the estate was renamed Château Mouton Rothschild in 1853 by the Rothschild family. The ownership remains with the Rothschild interests.

Mouton's motto: Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mouton ne change (First, I am. Second, I used to be. But Mouton does not change).

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