It was the Marquis de la Colonilla who, in 1810, built the château and the cellars which we still admire today. He commissioned the Bordeaux architect in vogue, Louis Combes, who was considered to be the successor to Victor Louis, the architect of Bordeaux's Grand Théâtre. Margaux was Louis Combes' masterpiece and was often called the Versailles of the Médoc. It is one of the rare examples of the neo-palladian style in France. But Margaux is not just a refined and aristocratic residence ; it is first and foremost a wine farm, and Combes' genius was to succeed in creating literally a wine farming village, by placing around the château all the necessary buildings to make one of the best wines in the world. On the left, is the craftsmen's courtyard with its houses and workshops for the different trades -plumbing, mechanics, etc., made necessary by the distance from Bordeaux, which in the 19th century was a day's stagecoach ride away. On the right, are the high places of wine-making -the barrel cellars, vat cellar and cooperage ; in particular, the great barrel cellar with its majestic perspective and great white columns evoking the spectacular image of a cathedral dedicated to wine. The whole, classified a Historic Monument in 1946, which visitors from all over the world gradually discover as they arrive through the long drive of centuries-old plane trees which form the entrance to the estate, is of a superb and unique coherence.
