John Lewis Brown, an animal painter from Scotland, purchased this vineyard in the early 19th century and commissioned the construction of a Tudor-style château. A bon vivant, he soon acquired a reputation for hospitality thanks to the brilliant celebrations he hosted at his château. He sold the estate in 1843 to a banker named Gromard who was the owner in 1855 when Cantenac Brown was included among the third growths in the famous classification of Médoc wines. One hundred fifty years later, the Simon Halabi family have given a new impetus to the estate, which they are determined to raise to the very highest level. Winegrowing methods have been changed accordingly. Work in the vineyard has become much more respectful of the environment and yields are kept quite low. A return to more natural practices at Cantenac Brown includes ploughing to enhance the vineyard's intrinsic physical, chemical, and biological properties.