The 12 hectares of land forming the estate, unchanged since 1871, have enabled La Conseillante to retain its exceptional character. An average density of six thousand vines per hectare, plus permanent attention and care lavished on the vines, which are the sole guarantors that the fruit remains healthy, are a reminder that without a quality grape, the wine is worthless. Thousands of carefully-executed tasks are repeated throughout the year. Later, the winemaking process aims to bring out the very best of this unique terroir. To ensure its perfect expression, yields at La Conseillante need to be controlled. For this reason, we use fertilisers to make up for deficiencies rather than to enrich the soil. But our major asset is without question the high average age of the vines, which thus makes for limited production. "Green" vine management (trimming, bud removal, thinning out, and leaf removal) enable us to control vine growth, and in particular to adjust output to the yields wanted. Having an optimal amount of leaf surface, the very lung of the vine, contributes to the sensory quality of the grapes, synthesising their essential constituents, such as aromas, anthocyanins, etc. With the approach of harvest, always carried out manually here, the technical team focuses all its attention on the grape bunches. Perfect ripening ensures optimal expression of the terroir and enables the wine to develop over time. Merlot, supple and round, which represents 80 % of the vineyard, ripens early, followed by Cabernet Franc, for 20 % of the plots, which will give structure and freshness for the blending. The requirements of quality start with grape-picking and are unremitting throughout the season. True to its philosophy of combining the benefits of tradition with advances in new technology, Château La Conseillante is equipped with a high-performance receiving platform for the harvest. Four sorting tables are linked up, together with a de-stalking machine, which makes it possible to smoothly separate the fruit from the stalks. Once these vital steps in the production of a great wine have been completed, the winemaking process can now begin, with only goal: draw the best out of the terroir. At La Conseillante, production is managed on a plot-by-plot basis for every stage of the winemaking process. Having vats of various capacities makes it possible to separately handle each plot harvested. After steeping, pre-fermentary cold-maceration is intended to preserve the freshness, aromatic qualities and colour of the vintage as much as possible. Modern technology is thus placed at the service of the terroir. Next follows about one week of alcoholic fermentation, and two to three weeks of maceration. At the end of the vatting period, running-off allows us to draw off the first pressing and separate the marc; this gentle pressing enables us to obtain high quality "press wines" which will be aged separately. While this highly delicate operation is being performed, malolactic fermentation occurs, before the wine is barrelled to start the ageing process, which lasts 18 months. La Conseillante uses around 80% to 100% new French oak barrels. At the end of January and the beginning of February the first traditional racking using air pressure is carried out in order to remove sediment. This process is renewed every three months. Fining, performed at the end of the ageing process, is carried out using freshly beaten egg white. All these careful attentions help give a great wine its remarkable colour and avoid resorting to filtration. Spring is the scene of the blending process, probably the most delicate operation. The wines are tasted separately then blended in well-defined proportions so as to select only the essence of the wine to achieve optimal balance. Any batch "unworthy" of a Conseillante is purely and simply eliminated. Lastly, more than a year and a half after harvesting, bottling at the château concludes the long ageing process.