Who makes it
Château Cantemerle was the final estate added to the 1855 classification, after its name was absent from the original list. The estate sits in Macau, in the Haut-Médoc, and its classified wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon-led red Bordeaux blend. The classification names the estate's place in Bordeaux's hierarchy, while the blend and cellar work determine what appears in the bottle.
Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 71% of the current blend, with 18% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. That proportion puts Cabernet at the centre of the wine's colour, fruit profile and shape. The style is medium-bodied, light, fresh and styled, with 12 to 16 months in French oak.
Where it grows
Macau is the commune, Haut-Médoc is the appellation, and Bordeaux is the wider region. On the label, Haut-Médoc identifies a red wine from the Médoc's gravelly western landscape, while the blend explains why Cabernet Sauvignon leads the estate wine. Cantemerle is therefore read through place and grape together: a classified Haut-Médoc built around Cabernet rather than a single-variety wine.
The estate's size also affects how the name reaches the market. Production is approximately 25,000 cases per year, enough for Château Cantemerle to appear as a substantial estate wine while retaining the regional character associated with Cabernet-led Médoc blends.
How it is made
The cellar
The vineyard combines deep gravel, around 40-year-old vines and more than 90 hectares under vine. The annual output, approximately 25,000 cases, places practical demands on harvest handling and fermentation. The renovation tripled the vat room and introduced 114 stainless-steel vats in a gravity-flow design.
The cellar's new scale follows the vineyard's expansion. Stainless-steel vats provide the estate with a larger fermentation facility, while gravity-flow movement reduces the need to rely on mechanical transfers inside the building. After fermentation, the estate wine spends 12 to 16 months in French oak, with 40% to 50% of the barrels new depending on vintage. The cellar therefore moves from large-scale handling to oak ageing without changing the wine's medium-bodied, fresh house style.
What they make
The fully described range entry is Château Cantemerle, the estate's red Haut-Médoc wine and its classified Fifth Growth bottle. The current blend is 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Cabernet supplies the dominant varietal voice, while the smaller proportions complete the blend without displacing its Cabernet-led character.
The wine is aged for 12 to 16 months in French oak, with 40% to 50% new barrels. That cellar period sits behind the wine's rich, oaky fruit, good colour and medium body. Its house style is light, fresh and charming, with enough weight for ageing but a shape that can drink well young.
Wines to try
First bottle
Start with Château Cantemerle, the red Haut-Médoc estate wine. It brings Macau, deep gravel, a 71% Cabernet Sauvignon blend and 12 to 16 months in French oak into one bottle. In the glass, expect rich, oaky fruit, good colour, medium body and a fresh finish rather than a dense style.