Château Desmirail is an estate in the commune of Cantenac on the left bank of the Bordeaux region. It makes red wine under the Margaux AOC. The wines ‘disappeared for many years into the vineyards and vats of Château Palmer and Château Brane-Cantenac,’  Hugh Johnson (Wine Companion: 1991, p.52).

Owner: Denis Lurton. 

Background: The name Desmirail has been associated with wine production in the Médoc region since the end of the seventeenth century. Jean Desmirail, a lawyer in Bordeaux’s parliament, gave his name to the property when he received it as part of his wife’s, Demoiselle Rausan du Ribail dowry. The château belonged to the Desmirail family until just before the 1855 classification, when it was purchased by Monsieur Sipière, the estate manager at Château Margaux. It was under his ownership that Desmirail was classified as a Troisième Grand Cru Classé (third growth).

At the beginning of the twentieth century the property was briefly owned by Robert de Mendelssohn, the nephew of the famous composer, before being acquired by Martial Michel, a glove maker from the north of France. Michel went on to sell the château shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War to Château Palmer.

The Château Palmer company owned the property for several years before selling it to Lucien Lurton, an iconic figure in the Bordeaux wine world, in 1980. In 1992, Lucien Lurton passed on his properties to each of his ten children. Denis, one of the older children and a lawyer by profession, took over the management of Château Desmirail. 

Classification: 1855 Classification Third growth.

Wines

Bordeaux Rosé AOC, Le Rosé de Desmirail: Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot.

Haut-Médoc AOC, Haut-Médoc de Desmirail: Haut-Médoc de Desmirail is made with the same care and in the same style as Desmirail’s Second Wine.

Margaux AOC, Initial de Desmirail: Produced in part from younger vines, Initial de Desmirail is the Château’s second wine. It also undergoes a maturation period in barrels.

Margaux AOC, Château Fontarney: Another brand used for the Initial de Desmirail wine produced for different markets.

Margaux AOC, Origine de Desmirail: Another brand used for the Initial de Desmirail wine produced for different markets.

Margaux AOC, Château Baudry: A second label.