The history of Château Lanessan is remarkable—it has been owned by just two families since 1310. Until 1793, it was owned by the descendants of Henry de Lanessan, after which it was purchased by Bordeaux wine merchant Jean Delbos. At that time, the vineyard covered 24 hectares compared to today's 80 hectares.

Lanessan has always had an excellent reputation and was ranked among the fourth growths in 1814. Unfortunately for this château, in 1855, the then-owner Louis Delbos refused to submit samples for the Paris exhibition, excluding Lanessan from the future Grand Cru Classé classification, where it would have otherwise been included.

The vines for the wine labeled Château Lanessan ripen on 45 hectares of this area. The vineyards are located on a single contiguous parcel in the Haut-Médoc appellation, adjacent to the St. Julien appellation.

Since 1999, a second wine, Les Calèches de Lanessan, has been produced. In 2004, grape sorting was improved with its own two-stage system. In 2010, further progress was made in vineyard work thanks to soil analysis, and progressive methods were introduced in the cellar for vinification and wine aging.