Château Cantemerle
Sitting in the southern Médoc, between the villages of Macau and Ludon, lies the beautiful Château Cantemerle. Described by Jancis Robinson as a ‘Sleeping Beauty château’ whose wine is ‘known for elegance’, Cantemerle is a Fifth Growth that delivers seductive charm and has a loyal following. The estate can be dated back to the 12th century when it started life as one of a line of castles defending the Gironde, before producing wine from around 1354. Today Cantemerle’s château has been rebuilt and relocated to sit more centrally amidst the trees and parkland, and its 90 hectares of vines. Since the 1980s there has been a huge quality surge thanks to a major replanting program which not only increased the area under vine to its current size - from a mere 25 hectares - but also rebalanced the proportions of plantings; increasing the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot and reducing the amount of Cabernet Franc. The result is a beautifully balanced wine which gets better each vintage.