The estate has been known since the twelfth century, when it was called La Mothe de Margaux. Pierre de Lestonnac laid out the property and its vineyard between 1572 and 1582, and the château itself was built between 1810 and 1816 for the marquis de La Colonilla, to plans by Louis Combes. In the classification of 1855, Château Margaux was ranked First Growth with the highest mark, twenty out of twenty.

André Mentzelopoulos bought the château in 1977 and began its renewal; his daughter Corinne took over on his death in 1980. In 2015 new buildings designed by Norman Foster were added beside the historic cellars.

Château Margaux covers 265 hectares in the commune of Margaux-Cantenac, of which 87 hectares are planted with red grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon first among them, and 12 hectares with Sauvignon Blanc for Pavillon Blanc. Pavillon Rouge, the oldest second wine of the Médoc, has borne its name since the 1906 vintage; it is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and represents a strict selection of the harvest.

See the wines above, the whole Margaux appellation, or the wider selection of Bordeaux wines.