There are records of wine being produced at Château d'Issan since the 12th century: it was served at the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet in 1152. From this event, the château has its motto written in Latin on the label: Regum mensis aris que deorum (For the table of kings and the gods' altar). In the 16th century, the Chevalier d'Essenault, a member of the Bordeaux parliament, knocked down the old building and built the current château. The château's name, Issan, is a contraction of Essenault. The property was classified as a Margaux third growth in 1855. The Cruse family became the owners in 1945. The property has been managed by Emmanuel Cruse since 1998. In 2008 he was made the Grand Master of the Commanderie du Bontemps of Médoc, Graves, Sauternes and Barsac. Château d'Issan has a single block of vines, planted on excellent gravelly soil beside the Gironde. Typically for the appellation, the vines consist of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Merlot, in biodynamics (without certification). As for the vines, they are cultivated sustainably, with treatments around seven to nine times a year to prevent disease.

These wines can be drunk young in some vintages, but with a few years in the cellar their aromas gain a wonderful complexity and the texture a superb velvetiness as the tannins soften with age. Very elegant and concentrated, Château d'Issan's wines are an excellent representative of the Margaux appellation and deserve a place in any wine enthusiast's cellar.