Nicolas-Alexandre, marquis de Ségur (1695–1755) was a Bordeaux wine maker who during his lifetime was known as the "Prince of Vines" due to his ownership of some of the most famous Bordeaux chateaus-including

Château Lafite A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

, Château Latour, Château Mouton and

Château Calon-Ségur Château Calon-Ségur is a winery in the Saint-Estèphe appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fourteen ''Troisièmes Crus Classés'' (Third Growths) in the historic Bordeaux Wine Offi ...

. A hundred years after his death, the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 would designate Lafite and Latour as

First Growth First Growth (french: Premier Cru) status is a classification of wines primarily from the Bordeaux region of France. The best of the best wines were assigned the highest rank of Premier Cru; only five wines, Château Lafite Rothschild, Châtea ...

s, Mouton as a second growth and Calon-Ségur as a third growth.

Biography

Family background

Nicolas-Alexandre Ségur was the son of Alexandre de le Meon de Ségur de Francs et Portugaises and Marie-Thérèse de Clausel and paternal grandson of Jean-Isaac, marquis de Ségur (d. 1707), military commander and a descendant of François de Ségur, seigneur de Sainte-Aulaye (d. 1605).The Marquis de Ségur
Chateau Latour history His first cousin was

Henri François, comte de Ségur Henri François, comte de Ségur, baron de Romainville et de Ponchat, seigneur de Fougueyrolles (1 June 1689 – 18 June 1751) was a French military general. Family background He was the son of Henri Joseph, comte de Ségur (1661–1737), mi ...

. Through his maternal grandfather, he inherited Château Latour.

Vineyard ownership

In 1716, Alexandre de Ségur bought

and, following his death that occurred soon after, the estate passed on to Nicolas-Alexandre. In 1718, Nicolas-Alexandre acquired Château Mouton and

. At one point, Ségur owned the land that would become the classified estates of Chateau d'Armailhac and Chateau Pontet-Canet.

Prince des vignes

Under the Marquis' influence, the wines of Chateau Lafite became firmly entrenched in the London market. Prime Minister

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

was a frequent customer, purchasing a barrel every three months. The Marechal de Richelieu introduced the wines of Chateau Lafite to the royal court of Louis XV and spoke glowingly of the wine's invigorating benefits.Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Profile
/ref> Louis gave Nicolas-Alexandre the nickname "The Prince des vignes" when he visited his court. The king mistook the buttons on the Marquis' coat for diamonds and complemented on their quality. The king was then informed that those stones were actually the cut and polished rocks from the Marquis' famous vineyards.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 257 Simon and Schuster 1989

Death

Ségur died in 1755 and his estate was divided among four daughters.

Legacy

Nicolas-Alexandre is credited with drawing the line that divides the neighboring Chateau Lafite and (now) Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and distinguishing the different styles of wine that these two properties produce. While the other properties were sold not long after his death, Chateau Latour stayed within his family till 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolas-Alexandre, Marquis De Segur Wine merchants French winemakers 1695 births 1755 deaths Marquesses of Ségur 18th-century French businesspeople