Château

Château Picard

shah-TOH pee-KAR
How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.

8 hectares in the heart of the village of Saint-Estèphe, planted 85% to Cabernet Sauvignon and owned since 1997 by Mähler-Besse, the Bordeaux house that is also a co-owner of Château Palmer.

Appellation
Saint-Estèphe
Classification
Cru Bourgeois

The château

Picard stands in the heart of the village of Saint-Estèphe, and it was classified Cru Bourgeois in 1932. It was the last property bought by Mähler-Besse, the Bordeaux house of wines and spirits founded in 1892 by Frédérik Mähler, who had left the Netherlands at 20. The house acquired it in 1997, wanting an estate small enough to keep every stage of the wine in its own hands. It renovated the cellars, built in the style of Napoleon III, and equipped them to bring the harvest in by gravity.

The 8 hectares lie on a clay soil full of the calcified remains of shells and sea urchins, planted 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, with vines 30 years old on average. After fermentation the wine macerates for 15 to 20 days and is then aged 12 to 18 months in oak barrels; the estate makes about 45,000 bottles. Picard was a Cru Bourgeois in the classifications of 2020 and 2025.

At a glance

Appellation
Saint-Estèphe
Commune
Saint-Estèphe, in the heart of the village
Classification
Cru Bourgeois in 1932, 2020 and 2025
Owner
Mähler-Besse, since 1997
Vineyard
8 hectares; vines 30 years old on average
Soil
Clay, with calcified remains of shells and sea urchins Terroir of Saint-Estèphe →
Grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon 85%, Merlot 15%
Cellar
Napoleon III cellars; harvest brought in by gravity; 15 to 20 days of maceration; 12 to 18 months in oak barrels
Production
About 45,000 bottles
Wines
Château Picard
The house
Mähler-Besse, Bordeaux, founded in 1892; also co-owner of Château Palmer, Margaux, since 1938

Sources

Institutions
Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc: Château Picard, the classification of 2025, the classification of 2020
Its own publications
Mähler-Besse: Château Picard, the history of the house; Mähler-Besse, Château Picard, technical sheet

Revised September 23, 2026. How I choose sources

The record

Château Picard is a Cru Bourgeois, in the Saint-Estèphe appellation.

The 1855 Classification was published on April 18, 1855, drawn up by the brokers of the Bordeaux exchange for the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Source: Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855

Private

By invitation only.

Houses in its story

On from here

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