One Vineyard Became Two Third Growth Châteaux — The Split Came Before the Classification Was Ever Decided

When we traced the story of Château Léoville in the Second Growth series, something caught our attention. Even after an estate that had once been one was split into three, the original register of the 1855 Classification is said to have listed all three collectively under a single name, "Léoville." A unified name from the past enveloped a divided present.

The story of Château Boyd-Cantenac, a Third Growth standing in the hamlet of Cantenac within the village of Margaux, follows the same basic plot — "one vineyard split apart" — yet takes an entirely different path. This vineyard, too, was once a single estate. But here, the split came before the classification was ever established. The two properties that emerged from the division each carried on under a separate name, and today's official list of the 1855 Classification still shows them side by side as independent Third Growths. The answer to the question posed above lies in this "order of splitting."

A Merchant from Scotland, and an Assessment Before the Classification

In 1754, a merchant of Scottish descent, Jacques Boyd, acquired an estate in Cantenac. This marks the origin of the château. The property is said to have later come to be called "Boyd" after his name. As early as 1776, a prominent Bordeaux broker is said to have rated this estate as equivalent to a Third Growth — nearly 80 years before the official classification was established.

This means the estate had already received this 1776 assessment (as reported) before it had even taken shape as a proper "château." But the story of this vineyard does not settle here. Once the nineteenth century began, ownership of the estate changed hands, and eventually the vineyard itself would be divided.

A Fork in the Road — In 1843, One Vineyard Became Two

In 1806, John Lewis Brown, who already owned the neighboring Château Cantenac Brown, became involved in managing the Boyd family's estate. Then, in 1843, the estate was divided between two individuals. The share that went to the banker Gromard, 58 hectares, later became part of Château Cantenac Brown. The share that went to Verrière, 8 hectares, became independent under the name "Château Boyd."

In the story of Léoville, the three later châteaux are said to have still been classified together under a single name even after the division. In the case of Boyd-Cantenac, things worked out a little differently. Looking at the current official list maintained by the 1855 Classification body, Boyd-Cantenac and Cantenac Brown appear side by side, each under its own independent name, as Third Growths. Exactly how the two were recorded in the original 1855 register itself cannot be confirmed from official sources. What is certain is only this: from the moment of the 1843 division onward, the vineyard had already begun operating as two separate concerns. Two names born from a single vineyard now appear on the current official list, each listed independently as a Third Growth.

The Guillemet Family Operates Two Classified Châteaux of Different Growths

Today, Boyd-Cantenac is led by the Guillemet family. In 1932, Louis Guillemet acquired the château, and the family's management has continued ever since. The Guillemet family had already owned another classified estate, the Fourth Growth Château Pouget, since 1906. A Third Growth and a Fourth Growth are both run by the same family.

The current head of the estate is Lucien Guillemet, who is also an oenologist and agricultural engineer. His nephew, Olivier Salques, has also joined the management as part of the next generation. The current primary name for the second wine is "La Croix de Boyd-Cantenac." Looking further back in history, however, other label names were used at various times, including "Jacques Boyd," which bore the founder's name. The story of a single vineyard splitting apart is layered, again and again, even within the names on the label.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• The 1843 division came twelve years before the 1855 Classification. By the time the classification was established, Boyd-Cantenac and Cantenac Brown were already operating as separate estates, and both appear on the current official 1855 Classification list as independent Third Growths.
• The Guillemet family manages two classified châteaux of different growths. The Fourth Growth Château Pouget, acquired in 1906, and the Third Growth Boyd-Cantenac, acquired in 1932, are both held by the same family.
• The name of the second wine was not always fixed to a single form. The current primary name is "La Croix de Boyd-Cantenac," but the name "Jacques Boyd," after the founder, has also been used at various points in the estate's history.