After fermentation, the wine is left in maceration for 15 to 20 days for proper extraction of color, aroma, and tannin. This is followed by ageing in oak barrels for 12 to 18 months.

Dark purple color. Delicately smoky and spicy nose. Elegant and well-balanced flavors. A bourgeois of great class.
Food suggestions : red meat, dishes with a sauce, cheeses.

Appellation : Saint-Estephe.
Classification : Cru Bourgeois.
Area under vine : 8 hectares.
Vine density : 9,000 vines per hectare.
Grape varieties : 15% Merlot, 85% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Soil and sub-soil : ancient sands on gravel.
Care of vineyards and vines : traditional methods, double Guyot pruning.
Harvesting : by hand with successive pickings.
Vinification : in recently refurbished cellars with most modern equipment. After fermentation, the wine is left to macerate on the skins during 15 to 20 days for maximum extraction of colour, aroma and tannin.
Ageing : between 12 and 18 months in oak barrels, with 35% new barrels.

Chateau Picard, (located in the centre of Saint-Estephe), was classified a cru bourgeois in 1932, and has always been conside- red one of the best wines in the appellation. This is the most recent vineyard purchased by Mahler-Besse (1997). The 8-hectare estate was chosen for its considerable potential and medium-sized area, making it easier to oversee production. Once they bought Chateau Picard, Mahler-Besse renovated the Napoleon III-style cellars and installed efficient winemaking equipment, incorporating gravity flow. The exceptional soil is clayey for the most part, which is quite typical of Saint-Estephe. It is also full of fossilised cockleshells and sea urchins.
Chateau Picard is mostly planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is subtly smoky and spicy. It is definitely high-class, and easy to identify because of its unusual label showing two flamingos standing on one leg, wings outstretched..