The estate was founded in the late 17th Century. This period was known as the Grand Siècle, or "great century", in reference to Louis XIV's 1661 accession to the French throne.
In 1689 Pierre Desmezures de Rauzan, an influential wine merchant and steward of the prestigious Latour and Margaux estates, bought plots of vines close to the Latour estate to create Enclos Rauzan. These vines were part of his daughter Thérèse's dowry when she married Baron Jacques Pichon de Longueville in 1694, the year in which the Pichon Baron estate was founded.
In 1850 the property was divided in two. Baron Raoul Pichon de Longueville's section became the Pichon Baron estate. The second section, belonging to his three sisters, became Pichon Comtesse. Baron Raoul was proud of his prestigious property, and in 1851 he commissioned the imposing château inspired by Renaissance architecture that we know today. This uniquely charming and romantic château, with its two emblematic turrets, has stood proudly at the vineyard's heart ever since.
During the Universal Exhibition of 1855, the wine was classed as a Second Grand Cru Classé according to the ranking system requested by Emperor Napoleon III, who wished to showcase Bordeaux's great wines.
In 1987 the estate was bought by AXA Millésimes, whose aim is to enable great wines from vineyards with a glorious past to achieve their full potential. An architectural competition was launched in collaboration with the Paris Pompidou Centre to provide the estate with new operational buildings. The comprehensive reconstruction of the fermenting room and cellar, and renovation of the château, began in 1988.
