Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Rouge Cru Classe, Pessac-Leognan 2021
$654.00
In-bond price · duties & taxes calculated at checkout
Drinking window
Ready - youthful · best from 2032 · will keep to 2050.
Tasting notes
James Suckling · James Suckling · 96-97
Lots of clove, black-licorice and cigar-box character. Already perfumed. Medium body with fine, chalky and precise tannins. Lead-pencil shavings. Well framed and structured with a fresh, lengthy and spicy finish. Extremely long and intense. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes.
Jane Anson · Decanter · 96
Skilful winemaking on display here, sculpted flavours and textures, a sense of momentum and push-and-pull through the palate. Quince, white pear, mango, nectarine, peach, with savoury white tea, liqourice, mandarin peel and lemongrass, all delivered with pummice stone minerality. This has complexity and poise, and is along the wines of the vintage. Harvest September 2 to 20.
Drink 2023 - 2032
William Kelley · Wine Advocate · 93-95
A brilliant wine, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte offers up aromas of blackberries, violets, coniferous forest floor and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's deep and impressively multidimensional, with good concentration, beautifully refined tannins and notable purity of fruit, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. The fruit of a severe selection, this blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot is testament to the Cathiard family's unwavering commitment to quality.
Neal Martin · Vinous · 92-94
The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte was picked from September 22 to October 14, and matured in 60% new oak. It has an open, expressive bouquet of blackberry, freshly rolled tobacco and subtle crushed rock aromas, well-defined though obviously not as flamboyant as the previous three vintages. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and mineral-driven, with fine tannins, a touch of chalkiness, and hints of seaweed on the estuarine finish, even though it lies a few kilometers from the Gironde! Classic in style, and maybe a little austere for some on the finish, yet it feels long in the mouth. Fabien Teitgen and his team have overseen a superb Smith Haut-Lafitte, even though I suspect that it will not reach the heights of the 2010 or the 2016.
Drink 2026 - 2050
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