thumb|300px|The reconstructed Château Margaux completed in 1812
Château Margaux (), archaically La Mothe de Margaux, is a wine estate of Bordeaux wine located in Margaux-Cantenac, France, and was one of five wines to achieve Premier cru (first growth) status in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. The estate's best wines are very expensive, with a bottle of Château Margaux grand vin reaching over $1,000. The estate is located in the commune of Margaux on the left bank of the Garonne estuary in the Médoc region, in the département of Gironde, and the wine is delimited to the AOC of Margaux.
The estate also produces a second wine named Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux, a third wine named Margaux de Château Margaux, a dry white wine named Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux which does not conform to the Margaux appellation directives, as well as a second dry white wine named Pavillon Blanc Second Vin, launched in 2024.
History
thumb|right|Château Margaux presentation card dated 1931, demonstrating the designs of the early 20th century, the label, cork, case and capsule markings
The estate has been occupied since at least the 12th century, with the site occupied by a fortified castle known as Lamothe or La Mothe (from motte, a small rise in the land), and wine under names such as "Margou" and "Margous" was known in the 15th century, but it was with the arrival of the Lestonnac family in the 16th century that wine production became of particular importance, and in the 1570s Pierre de Lestonnac expanded the property and cleared many of the grain fields to make way for vines.
The lineage of ownership was to continue in a relatively direct path from the Lestonnacs, though through the female side, with proprietors' names such as d'Aulède, Fumel, d'Hargicourt, including an alliance of marriage with the Pontac family of Château Haut-Brion in 1654, which became crucial to the inclusion of Château Margaux among the four first growths.
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. Briefly rescued by Laure de Fumel, she was soon forced to sell, and in 1802 the estate was purchased by the Marquis de la Colonilla, Bertrand Douat for 654,000 francs. An attempt by National Distillers & Chemical Corporation to acquire Château Margaux was vetoed by the French government on grounds that the estate was a national treasure.
A successful acquisition took place in 1976 by French grocery and finance group Félix Potin, headed by Greek André Mentzelopoulos, for a sum near 72 million francs, In 2003, Corinne Mentzelopoulos bought back the majority stake and became the sole shareholder of Château Margaux.
2023 marks a new era with a generational change within the Mentzelopoulos family. After 43 years been Chief Executive Officer, Corinne hands over the reins to her children and appoints Alexis as CEO of the Estate. As for her daughter Alexandra, she becomes President of the Supervisory Board of the holding company.
Since 1989, a bottle of Château Margaux 1787, bearing the etched initials of previous owner Thomas Jefferson, holds the record as the most expensive bottle of wine insured at $225,000 ().
Margaux Hemingway received her given name from this wine; born Margot, she changed the spelling to Margaux when her parentswho drank the wine on the night she was conceivedtold her this background.
Production
left|thumb|125px|Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux
thumb|right|Barrels in a Château Margaux [[chai (wine)|chai]]
thumb|right|Ancient bottles in the Château Margaux cellar
The domaine of Château Margaux extends , of which are entitled to the Margaux AOC declaration. are planted with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, with 2% Cabernet Franc and Petit verdot. are cultivated with Sauvignon blanc to make the dry white Pavillon Blanc.
The average annual production of the Grand vin, Château Margaux, is 150,000 bottles, while the second wine Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux has an average production of 200,000 bottles. The dry white Pavillon Blanc du Château Margaux has a production of around 35,000 bottles, and must be sold under the generic Bordeaux AOC as the cultivation of Sauvignon blanc does not fall under the directives of the Margaux AOC. The remainder of the production, what is determined to be "lesser grapes", is sold off in bulk.