OUR ORIGINS:
Medieval origins
Founded in the Middle Ages, Cantemerle was originally a fortified house built on a mound surrounded by wide moats. Strategically located, it controlled the trade routes connecting Macau to the Garonne River and served as a defensive point and toll point.
From the 13th century onwards, its lords appear in feudal records attesting to the age and importance of this seigneury.
From noble house to wine estate
In the 16th century, the lordship changed hands several times before being bought in 1579 by Jehan de Villeneuve, president of the Parliament of Bordeaux. This marked the beginning of a long family line that would profoundly influence Cantemerle. From then on, the estate established itself as a true noble house and a recognized wine-producing site.
1579–1892: The Villeneuve-Durforts,
heirs and builders of the vineyard
With the marriage of Jean de Villeneuve and Antoinette de Durfort, Cantemerle entered a new era. The family, now known as the Villeneuve-Durforts, made viticulture the main activity of the estate, breaking with its feudal management. Thus, the “Bourdieu model” was adopted: a self-contained estate combining residential and agricultural buildings, based on mixed farming with a focus on wine production.
In the 17th century, the château took on its current appearance: the Sauves residence became the stately home hosting the grape harvest and the life of the estate. The Villeneuve-Durforts, powerful figures in the Médoc region, left their mark on the region as much through their alliances as through their heated disputes, even in the churches of Macau.
The Revolution swept away the old medieval château but the vineyard continued to thrive and assert its reputation.
The rise in the 19TH century:
the work of Caroline
de Villeneuve
The true golden age of Cantemerle began with Baroness Caroline de Villeneuve. Widowed in 1834, she took over the estate with energy and thoroughly modernized the château, its grounds, and the winemaking facilities. A visionary, she secured Cantemerle’s place in the prestigious 1855 classification of Médoc Grands Crus. This recognition established the estate among the Bordeaux elite!
1855
When Château Cantemerle
made history
1855 – Napoleon III, newly arrived in power, wanted to impress the world and decided to organize a universal exhibition in Paris, a vast showcase of France’s greatness, displaying industry, the arts… and of course Bordeaux wines, the jewel in the crown of French heritage.
The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce was tasked with presenting the region’s wines. It turned to the Chamber of Wine Brokers, key figures in the wine trade, to establish a clear hierarchy of the best wines. Their method was rigorous: they drew on nearly a century of sales prices recorded in their archives. This work resulted in a classification of 68 red wines and 21 white wines divided into five and three distinct ranks.
On April 18, 1855, the list was made public. At the top of the list were the most prestigious names such as Lafite Rothschild, Latour, Margaux…
Château Cantemerle, although worthy of a place among its peers, was not included. This omission was not due to the quality of the wine but to a commercial peculiarity: for generations, the estate had exported its barrels directly to Holland without going through the Bordeaux marketplace. Therefore, its sales prices rarely appeared in brokers’ records, hence the omission.
In 1854, Caroline de Villeneuve-Durfort decided to give her estate greater visibility and brought it into the traditional Bordeaux trade circuit. This decision would prove decisive.
When the 1855 classification was published and Cantemerle was not included, Caroline did not give up. She meticulously gathered all the evidence of her wine’s value: past prices, archives, testimonials. Her clear and well-documented file completed what the brokers’ records did not detail.
And so, on September 16, 1855, while the Universal Exhibition was in full swing, Château Cantemerle was officially added to the list!
1866–1981
Crises and renewal
The long period of prosperity was followed by dark years, marked by the phylloxera and mildew crises between 1879 and 1887, bringing an end to the Villeneuve-Durfort dynasty.
In 1892, Théophile-Jean Dubos took over the estate with his wife and their two sons. A passionate owner, but also an influential figure in the Bordeaux wine trade, he helped establish the estate among the great Médoc wines.
When he died, his sons continued the adventure, but the crises and wars of the 20th century weakened the estate: a large part of the vineyard was uprooted and, after 1945, only about 20 hectares remained under cultivation.
Despite these trials, Pierre Dubos, a talented winemaker and respected figure in the wine world, maintained the château’s reputation. The 1961 INAO classification listed it among the top wines.
After his death in 1962, his daughters Bernadette and Pia inherited the estate. Their husbands, Henri Binaud and Bertrand Clauzel, managed it until the end of the 1970s. In 1981, weakened by the drastic reduction of its vineyard, Cantemerle was sold to the SMA Group, opening a new chapter in its history!
A contemporary
renaissance
In 1981, the SMABTP group bought Cantemerle and restored its prestige. The vines were replanted, the cellars modernized and the château restored. Today, the estate covers nearly 98 hectares and combines heritage, modernity and respect for biodiversity, faithful to its centuries-old history.
Château Cantemerle thus tells an epic story involving medieval lords, great Bordeaux families, 19th-century visionaries and modern winemakers. It is a story of resilience and transmission open to the future.
Tribute to Caroline de Villeneuve,
a visionary woman of character
Thanks to the tenacity of Baroness Caroline de Villeneuve, then aged 72, Cantemerle was added to the official 1855 classification at the last minute. Caroline was undoubtedly the only woman to successfully make her voice heard in a context where women had little place in the world of wine.
A visionary, she understood the importance of this recognition for the future of the estate. Three years earlier, she had already supported the first (successful!) experiments against powdery mildew, conducted by her manager Jean-Baptiste Fleuret (a process that is still used today).
Far beyond her name, Caroline de Villeneuve symbolized the spirit of the place and the renovation of the château pays full tribute to her. Inspired by her strong personality, it preserves the soul of the building while giving it a new vitality shaped by her passionate nature. Wood paneling, patinated colors and 18th-century furniture now rub shoulders with more contemporary creations, creating an atmosphere that is warm, unique and modern.
Even today, the Cantemerle team continues to live by the values she embodied: sustainability, legitimacy and fidelity to a vision of excellence.
