France, Bordeaux

Chateau d’Aiguilhe, owned by Stephan Neipperg is situated in a unique location. The Bordeaux wine property is bordered on one side by a plateau. The other side is bordered by a small valley. This overlooks “l’aiguille”, which is a French term meaning “needle.” This is how the chateau found its name. The property has a long and interesting history as a Bordeaux wine property. At one time, there was supposed to have been a Roman villa on this site. Much later, the château was probably used as a commandery for the Knights Templar. The first written records date back to the late 12th century. The château was built in the 13th century. d’Aiguilhe was obtained by the d’Albret family before it was sold to the Leberthon family. The Leberthon family connection was important as numerous familiy members were officials in the Bordeaux parliament. Eventually the Leberthons sold Château d’Aiguilhe on the eve of the French Revolution to Etienne Martineau. He expanded it into a huge Bordeaux wine estate with four hundred hectares of vines in a single block. His descendents remained owners of the château until 1920. Today, the Right Bank property is owned and managed by Stephan von Neipperg, who owns several other Bordeaux wine properties in St. Emilion.