Two classified estates in the same village took different paths — Château de Camensac

Château de Camensac is an estate in the Haut-Médoc AOC and a Fifth Growth (Cinquième Cru) in the 1855 Classification. Its official address is Saint-Laurent-Médoc. Château Belgrave is another estate at Saint-Laurent-Médoc, while Château Cantemerle is legally located at Macau. All three are among the Haut-Médoc Fifth Growths, but address, classification area and estate identity are different kinds of information.

| Official name | Château de Camensac |

Camensac preserves a place name meaning “the way to the water”

Camensac’s official history explains the name as Gascon for “the way to the water.” This is a geographic clue preserved in a place name, not a claim about quality. There is no basis for treating Camensac as identical to the village name or to the present boundary of the vineyard. The name also appears on the 1767 Belleyme map.

It therefore remains a documented place name on an eighteenth-century map. The etymology and the historical map do not, however, establish the present extent of the vineyards, boundary lines or the order of neighbouring estates.

A house, vineyards and surrounding land in a 1701 record

Camensac’s official historical material describes a house and vineyards on the land in 1701. The same record mentions marshland around the property and the vineyards of Château de La Tour Carnet and Château Lagrange. This is a historical relationship recorded by the official source, not a modern map showing present boundaries, distances or a sequence of adjoining parcels.

The memory contained in the name “the way to the water” must be kept separate from the situation described in 1701. The current relationship between Camensac, La Tour Carnet and Lagrange, the way their parcels are divided and whether they came from one divided property cannot be stated as fact. The existing pages for Château La Tour Carnet and Château Lagrange are cross-references to names appearing in the historical record, not proof of a present-day boundary claim.

A Fifth Growth on 18 April 1855

Camensac’s official history says that the classification published on 18 April 1855 recognised the Popp family and the Camensac terroir. The current Bordeaux official list places Château de Camensac among the Haut-Médoc Cinquièmes Crus, or Fifth Growths.

The institutional classification of 1855 and the history of the name Camensac should be read separately. Fifth Growth is a position in the classification table, not an invitation to infer quality or market standing from the name. Château Belgrave, Château de Camensac and Château Cantemerle are the three estates among the 18 Fifth Growths classified in Haut-Médoc, but there is no basis for treating them as one property or as the result of one documented division.

Ownership changes that mark the twentieth century

According to the official history, Paul Cuvelier and Albert Cuvelier became owners in 1912. Ownership moved to Elysée Forner and Henri Forner in 1964, and in 2005 to Jean Merlaut and Céline Villars-Foubet. The history of Camensac is therefore marked not only by a place name, but also by successive ownership records.

The current official legal notice identifies LE CHATEAU DE CAMENSAC as the site owner. The detailed current group structure and management responsibility are not established by the official material reviewed here. Past owners and the current legal entity should not be treated as interchangeable, and the account remains within what the sources confirm.

Another name: La Closerie

The Camensac official site identifies La Closerie de Camensac as its second wine. Its official page describes it as receiving the same care as Château de Camensac and being made from selected lots. A technical document also describes selected lots from younger vines and the grand vin.

The safe point to introduce here is the name and the position given by the official sources. It should not be expanded into a claim about rank, quality, purchase or consumption. Camensac and La Closerie are two names that help readers follow the estate’s history and range of labels.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• Camensac is explained as a Gascon place name meaning “the way to the water,” and it appears on the 1767 Belleyme map.
• A 1701 official record mentions a house, vineyards, marshland and the vineyards of Château de La Tour Carnet and Château Lagrange. It does not establish present boundaries or distances.
• Camensac was recognised in the classification published on 18 April 1855 and is currently a Haut-Médoc Fifth Growth. Ownership changes are recorded for 1912, 1964 and 2005.