Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan 2024

Nice aromatics, white fruit, some herbal scents, wool, caramel, vanilla, white chocolate and some peach. Dynamic and alive on the palate, this has a great energy and focus straight away. Sleekly presented - this is straight and focused but with nuances of pear, green apple, creamy vanilla, lemon balm and soft honey. Mouthwatering acidity gives the zing with the texture following after. Fresh, some spice touches, fennel and mint herbs. Good energy, crystalline and pure. Built on acidity and freshness with a long lasting, finessed flavour. One of the whites of the vintage. Ageing 50% in new oak barrels. 3.2pH

Needs a little shaking to wake up scents of lemon verbena, lime leaves, and wet pebbles, opening out to reveal hints of passion fruit and jasmine tea. The light to medium-bodied palate is super-intense with wonderful tension and lots of chalky sparks, finishing very long and layered. Stunning!

A gorgeous aromatic blossom of white peaches, peach pit, sage, apple blossom, soft clove and white truffle spices, gentle lift through the palate, a wonderfully fragrant, generous but finessed Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, with so much depth and length. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest August 29 to September 13, 3.2ph. Energy maintained through the palate, up there with one of the whites of the vintage.

The 2024 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is complex, dynamic and an absolute delight. Everything about the 2024 speaks to class. Brisk acids drive through a core of citrus fruit, almond, mint, chamomile and white pepper. More than anything else, I admire the wine's tension and energy. Clean saline notes extend the dry, bracing finish.

The 2024 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Sémillon, matured in 50% new oak. It needed a bit of aeration in the glass, eventually revealing scents of Anjou pear, gooseberry, white flowers and light flinty aromas. The palate is well balanced with lilting nectarine, pear and stem ginger notes. Fine weight and depth, with a judicious touch of spice towards the finish. The sapidity and linearity of this impressive Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc mean it should repay cellaring.

The Grand Vin is 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% each of Sauvignon Gris and Semillon, all aged in 50% new oak, with malolactic fermentation blocked. The 2024 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc brings beautiful Sauvignon notes of ripe citrus and grapefruit that are backed up by beautiful minerality, classy minty, floral, and melon nuances, medium-bodied richness, integrated acidity, and a great finish.

Floral and complex, the 2024 Blanc from Smith Haut Lafitte offers up aromas of white peach, apricot, spices and spring blossoms. Medium-bodied, round and layered, it's sappy and seamless with an incisive mid-palate and a long, ethereal and refreshing finish. Matured in 50% new oak, this blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris represents a strong effort.