Of the Fourteen Third Growths, La Lagune Alone Is in Haut-Médoc. It Stands on the First Rise North

When the fourteen Third Growths of the 1855 Classification are arranged by appellation, thirteen belong to the communal appellations of Margaux, Saint-Julien, and Saint-Estèphe. Only one bears the broader Haut-Médoc appellation: Château La Lagune.

It stands in Ludon-Médoc. Travelling north from the city of Bordeaux along the Médoc road, it appears at the entrance to the line of classified châteaux. An official technical sheet calls it the first gravel rise on the road into the Médoc. La Lagune is not an exception because it lies beyond the classified zone. It is exceptional because it occupies the southern entrance to it.

From a Hamlet of Waterholes to the First Classified Estate on the Road

The name "La Lagune" comes from natural waterholes on the land. The official history says that a settlement formed around them in the late Middle Ages and became a wine-producing estate around 1587. Roughly two kilometres from the Garonne, the approximately eighty hectares then contained about fifteen natural bodies of water.

In the eighteenth century, a long, low Chartreuse-style residence was built. France's Ministry of Culture dates the principal construction campaign to the eighteenth century, while château technical material gives a starting date around 1730. Later sources differ over the architect, so this account does not attribute the building to a single person. What is secure is that an eighteenth-century residence was layered over the medieval settlement and, in the same southern location, entered the Third Growths in 1855.

Reawakening an Estate in 1958

War and a long period of stagnation damaged both vineyard and residence in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1958, Georges Brunet, entrusted with the keys by Marguerite Seze, began reconstructing the vineyard and restoring the Chartreuse. The official history says ownership passed to René Chayoux in 1961. Brunet's tenure was short, but he initiated replanting and technical work that became the foundation for the next period.

In a later interview, Caroline Frey recalled that only a few productive hectares remained when Brunet took over. He replanted abandoned plots and invested in the residence and facilities, but could not retain the property for long. The person who began the reconstruction and the owners who operated it over the longer term were therefore not the same.

The history that followed also includes women in operational leadership. In 1988, Vanity Fair reported that Jeanne Boyrie, who had succeeded her late husband, oversaw winemaking at La Lagune. Several specialist histories place her leadership from 1964 to 1986. The official château history does not detail that tenure, so this page avoids a superlative such as "the first woman." It can nevertheless document that a woman held a central operational role before the Frey era.

Boyrie was not an outside manager who arrived without prior connection. The contemporary account says that she inherited the duties held by her husband after his death. At a time when the owning company and the manager on site were separate, she linked the daily work of vineyard and cellar for more than twenty years. This continuity prevents the history of women directing La Lagune from being simplified as something that began with the Frey family in the 2000s.

From Caroline to Delphine

The Frey family acquired the château in 2000. Caroline Frey took charge in 2004 and oversaw work on the vat room and cellars. In July 2025, after a period of ill health, she announced that she was stepping back from directing the family's several estates. This did not mean that ownership left the Frey family.

Current official Frey family material says that Delphine Frey has succeeded Caroline at the head of the vineyard. From Jeanne to Caroline and now Delphine, the estate at the entrance to the Médoc also carries work performed by women in different periods. Its second wine is officially named Moulin du Château La Lagune. Together with its unique Haut-Médoc address among the Third Growths, the name marks the point where the Médoc story begins from the south.

Specialist reporting in 2026 identifies Xavier Moragues as technical director under Delphine. The official site also records that the vineyard received Biodyvin biodynamic certification in 2021. Although leadership has changed, ownership and the continuing work on the land and buildings remain within the Frey family.

Three Facts Worth Knowing

• La Lagune is the only Haut-Médoc AOC among the fourteen Third Growths. It is not "the only one outside Margaux"; the group also includes estates in Saint-Julien and Saint-Estèphe.
• The residence is an eighteenth-century Chartreuse. Official technical material places its construction around 1730, while the French Ministry of Culture records an eighteenth-century campaign.
• Caroline Frey stepped back from directing the estates in 2025, and Delphine Frey has succeeded her. Ownership remains with the Frey family.