Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan 2023

Distinctive as ever, right at the top of what Pessac Léognan Blanc can deliver. Structured, fleshy white peach and pear, waves of salted cracker and sage, creamy texture, great length, just a brilliant wine. A buy.

Checking in as 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, and 5% Semillon, the 2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is just gorgeous, offering white peach, honeyed orange, brioche, mint, and chalky minerality on the nose. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has bright acidity, a lively, elegant mouthfeel, and a great, salty finish that makes you salivate. It will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and have two decades of prime drinking. Drink 2028-2045.

Another exceptional vintage for Smith-Haut-Lafite Blanc. It’s so complex and structured, offering a palate that feels similar to the texture of a red wine with a velvety tannin structure. There’s a lot going on here. Spice, crushed seashell and citrus blossom. Salty, too. Weightless and so long. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% sauvignon gris and 5% semillon.

One of the great whites of Bordeaux, the Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is stellar in 2023. Soaring aromatics and sculpted fruit soar from the glass. Hints of tangerine oil, acacia, mint, marzipan and lemon confit open over time. The Grand Vin deftly balances power, tension and fruit presence.

Strong aromatics, on the expressive side with herbal accents, spiced wood, green apple, quince, apricot, mango, peach honeycomb and elderflower. Very floral. Fresh and expansive, mineral and direct, but a good body full of fruit, freshness and honey characters. Definitely more opulent and exotic than the others in the range with hints of tropical fruit - pineapple and mango but also some lovely bitterness which adds tension to balance it out. A good combination, more vibrancy and energy than in previous years. Succulent and sumptuous with salinity. Very good and very easy to drink. Ageing 50% new oak.

A blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% each Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon, the 2023 Blanc from Smith Haut Lafitte reveals aromas of white fruits, spices, confit citrus and spring flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, layered and dense, it is built around a fleshy core of fruit framed by lively acidity and a refined, gastronomic bitterness that brings precision to the finish. It's a classic at this address.

A blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris, the white 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is aging in 50% new oak. After a swirl or two, it prances out with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pineapple, and green mangoes, opening out to underlying hints of lime blossoms, wet slate, and fresh ginger. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and vivacious, with a racy backbone and a long, exotic fruit-laced finish. Yum!

The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is clean and precise on the nose, very focused and tensile, scents of clementine, freshly cut fennel, hints of lanolin in the background. The palate is well-balanced with fine acidity, impressive tension and more complexity than many of its peers. Again, there is a touch of spice on the finish, with lemongrass and stem ginger waiting patiently in the background. Very classy.