Château Margaux

[7] As with many of Médoc's châteaux, the early 18th century saw the wine develop from a pale watery drink that faded within only a few years, to the dark, complex liquid that has been stored in cellars ever since, and a transformation was largely due to an estate manager named Berlon, who revolutionised techniques of wine-making by introducing novel ideas such as banning harvesting in the early morning to avoid dew-covered grapes and subsequently dilution, and acknowledged the importance of soil quality in the various terroir found on the estate.

[7] In 1771, wine from the estate became the first claret to be sold at Christie's,[7] and upon visiting Bordeaux in 1787, Thomas Jefferson made note of Château Margaux as one of the "four vineyards of first quality".

[8] Following the French Revolution, the owner Elie du Barry was executed by guillotine and the estate expropriated, eventually becoming the property of the citizen Miqueau who neglected its care and maintenance.

[6] The estate's old château was torn down and completely rebuilt when Douat commissioned one of Bordeaux' foremost architects, Louis Combes [fr], to create the buildings in the First Empire style,[8] the mansion for the Marquis to move into by 1812.

[6] On 17 August 1835, Margaux was bought by the Spanish magnate Alejandro María Aguado, 1st Marquess of Marismas del Guadalquivir, who had amassed a vast fortune as a banker.

[6][9] This was later reported to be an attempt backed by The Coca-Cola Company, and was directly prevented by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

[8] By the time of Mentzelopoulos' death in 1980, Château Margaux was considered substantially restored to its former reputation, with the 1978 and 1979 vintages declared "exceptional".