France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Sauvignon Blanc

Cabernet Franc

Sémillon

Petit Verdot

Savagnin Blanc

Sauvignon Gris

Souvignier Gris

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge Cru Classe Pessac-Leognan

Bordeaux

Pessac-Léognan

Inky colour, with vivid vibrant edging, curling and fragrant floral aromatics, plenty of energy from the first kick of peony and mandarin peel. The rich density of the blue and black fruits are set against slate and grippy tannins, giving textural contrast which makes it engaging, together with a saline scrape on the finish. Blueberry, cassis, ink, liquorice root, graphite, pink grapefruit, intensely expressed with a vertical rise through the palate, very much true to estate signature. 29hl/h, 3.65ph, 10% whole bunches fermentation, using a mix of full bunches and stalks that they select after destemming. 33% 1st wine, 4% press used in the blend, harvest September 5 to 30. Fabien Teitgen technical director.

Inside Bordeaux

The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, with a yield of 29 hl/ha and aging in 60% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a lot of shaking to wake up notes of blackcurrant jelly, redcurrant preserves, boysenberries, and pencil lead, followed by suggestions of lilacs, Sichuan pepper, and cedar chest. The full-bodied palate is built like a skyscraper, delivering mouth-coating black fruits with red berry sparks supported by rock-solid, firm tannins, finishing very long and with a refreshing mineral lift. pH 3.70.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Expert

Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs a little swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of fresh red and black currants, juicy blackberries, and lilac, followed by hints of cedar chest, bay leaves, and underbrush. The light to medium-bodied palate has a firm, grainy texture and beautiful freshness with tightly wound red and black fruit flavors and a long mineral-laced finish.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is aging in 60% new oak and it is opaque purple-black in color. It needs a bit of shaking to brink forth an eruption of blackcurrant preserves, ripe plums, and baked black cherries, leading to hints of chocolate mint, violets, and unsmoked cigars, with a waft of pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular black fruits, delivering a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and earthy.

Inky ruby in colour, with vivid reflections, this successfully walks the line of the vintage, delivering quality and a sense of drama, campfire smoke, crushed rocks, sage, cassis, bilberry, blueberry and damson fruits. Silky tannins, stands out for its quality, one to look out for, and will age to at least 15 year, but deliver pleasure far earlier. Harvest September 22 to October 14. 60% new oak (for a little less time than usual). 23hl/h yield.

The 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it storms out of the glass with powerful scents of creme de cassis, wild blueberries, and redcurrant preserves, followed by suggestions of cedar chest, charcuterie, cast-iron pan, and black truffles, with a touch of menthol. The full-bodied palate is densely laden with black fruit layers offset by mineral and red berry accents, supported by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and earthy.

Amatør

Kjølig frukt, røde bær, mørke kirsebær, tobakk, bringebær, syrlige plommer, mørke rips og elegant mineralsk preg. Samtidig får jeg også noe jordlige toner, våt grus og pene eike- toner.  

Lyse bjørnebær og modne markjordbær på smak. Syren og strukturen er elegant, med høy konsentrasjon. Tanninene er nok så tette, hvorav samtidig lengden er lang. Noe alk preg dessverre. 🍷

Ruby red. Delicate nose with violets, perfume, blueberries, cassis and minerals. Fresh acidity. Vibrant. Cherries, licorice, blueberries and minerals. Balanced. Polished tannins. Very long.

Packed with black cherry and damson fruit, with a smoky curl of grilled sandalwood and cloves, this continues to deliver, as it has since En Primeur, and although there are tons of tannins that will take it through decades, it has not closed down too tightly, and can be enjoyed now with a long carafe. I often say that Smith Haut Lafitte is the wine to choose if you want to be sure of making people happy, while still delivering a sense of occasion and complexity, and it comes across so well in this vintage, with its cocoa bean and cappucino creaminess, and grippy acidity with salted cracker finish. 60% new oak, Fabien Teitgen technical director. Organic and biodynamic farming. 2015 is also an important year hear, marking 650 years since the founding of Smith Haut Lafitte and 25 years of the Cathiard family’s ownership.

They know how to deliver sleek, poised and subtly gourmet wines even in the more austere vintages at Smith Haut Lafitte, and this is delicious, great quality, fine but firm tannins, opening up but still focus on primary fruits, cassis and blueberry, grilled oak, lovely stuff with a mouthwatering finish. 80% new oak, Fabien Teitgen technical director.

Attractive grilled oak aromatics, with depth still evident in the core of the wine. Lacks estate signature if you are looking for the confident punch of Smith Haut Lafitte in most vintages, but this has balance and autumnal fruits, and a soot-ash-gunsmoke edge that adds complexity, all wrapped up in fine tannins that are still providing a gentle hug to the fruit. Served out of magnum (clearly a sensible choice), this is ready to drink but in no hurry to drink up.

The 2012 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is medium to deep garnet-purple colored. It sashays out with flamboyant scents of boysenberries, blackberry preserves, and redcurrant jelly, plus hints of cardamom, cigar box, and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, elegant, and with seamless freshness, it has provocative black and red berry flavors and minerally sparks on the long, plush finish.

A muscular, tannin-packed vintage that came at a moment when Smith Haut Lafitte was building in renown, with the work undertaken by the Cathiards fully come though in the glass. The intensity and concentration of 2010 also benefits from the dash of glamour that this château specialises in, so you get the layers of grapite and cassis softened by spiced plum, vanilla bean and bitter chocolate. Drawn out and tightly gripped, with a sense of drama. One to savour, with no rush to begin drinking. 60% new oak, Fabien Teitgen technical director. Organic and biodynamic farming.

One of the vintages that saw Smith Haut Lafitte establish its dominance within the Pessac Léognan appellation, still tasting bright and full of supple, rich berry fruits. Cocoa bean, pencil lead and liqourice showcase the Cabernet dominance, this is confident, generous and just a wonderful wine, still young with many decades ahead of it.

A wine that I have been lucky enough to drink several times recently, and it's tasting superb right now. Generous and welcoming, with grilled red peppers, rosemary, toasted sandalwood, cedar, liqourice, espresso, well textured tannins, sage and turmeric spice that freshens the finish and keeps you wanting more. Excellent quality from technical director Fabien Teitgen and owners Florence and Daniel Cathiard.

A classically-structured vintage, showcasing tertiary flavours of forest floor, tar, soy sauce, blackberry, raspberry and soft waves of soot and campfire smoke. Enjoyable, very much in its drinking window. 1995 was the first year at the estate for technical director Fabien Teitgen, so this was his fourth vintage, and the end of the first decade under Daniel and Florence Cathiard as owners.

A warm vintage where you get some standout successes still going strong at 35 years old, and others that have really hit the law of diminishing returns. Smith Haut Lafitte is just about holding on - plenty of caressing tannins, cloves, black pepper and turmeric spices, balanced with soy and tar notes. Very much tertiary, I would begin drinking up over the next three to eight years, but it remains a crowd pleaser at this stage.

Gentle smoky oak, campfire, crushed rocks, sweet raspberry and blackberry, liqourice root, leather, fully tertiary flavours that are soft but ready to please. Harvest from October 1. Bottled as AOC Graves, an the Pessac-Léognan appellation dates from 1987.

Welcoming sweet strawberry puree, metallic touches suggest brett, but do not detract from the overall charm and gentle architecture of this wine. More evolved than the 1959 that follows in this vertical. Harvest from September 23.

Tawny with waves of raspberry in colour. 1959 was a wonderful vintage in Bordeaux, and this has a darker colour, and better grip, than either the 1969 or the 1979. There is still structure here also, fine tannins that move with the gentle brambled fruits, and plenty of rosebud, undergrowth and smoked earth. It's not going to build in intensity from this point on, but it is still very much delivering. Harvest from September 20. Smith Haut-Lafitte had been bought by Louis Eschenauer the year before, in 1958.

Colour wise this is not so different from the 1959, with a lovely tawny walnut body, but on the palate it is far more evolved, walnut heading towards cold ash, forest floor and soy. You have to search for the flavour, but I would say enjoy the memories of a wine made just four years after the end of World War II, and drink up. No blend given (or perhaps recorded at this point), harvest from Spetember 22.

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte
Vintages	2022
Country	France, Bordeaux, Pessac-Léognan
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

Packaging
Cork type
Selection
Wholesaler
Carrier