This fifth growth is one of the very few classed growths from outside the four classic communes of the Medoc. In fact, it barely made it into the 1855 classification at all. The redoubtable then owner Caroline de Villeneuve was incensed to discover that the brokers and negociants she had trusted to manage Cantemerle had neglected to see it included in the classification. She marched down to the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce armed with 40 years’ worth of receipts and commercial documents to prove the prices it was fetching (that being the basic criterion for inclusion). The Chamber of Commerce yielded, and at the very last minute Cantemerle joined the ranks of the classed growths.

Since the 1980s, Cantemerle has been owned by the insurance group Societe Mutuelle. Investment has poured in over that period, and Cantemerle has grown from 20 hectares back to almost exactly the same contiguous 100 hectares it occupied in 1855. It lies in the south of the Haut-Medoc appellation, across plots in Macau (60 hectares) and Ludon-Medoc (33 hectares), just over the appellation boundary from Margaux.

A long-term replanting programme has seen the proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard grow to 67 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, with the 23/5/5 balance being Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Petit Verdot. Since the replanting programme began back in the 1980s, the balance of older vines is quite high. At the time of writing, the chateau is about to begin work on a much bigger new cellar. (NT 11/08/23)