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Red dry
Château Smith Haut Lafitte is one of the most highly rated wines of this vintage in the entire Bordeaux region, confirmed by a near-perfect score of 99 points from James Suckling. The Cathiard family embraces a philosophy of "bio-precision," and the estate is officially certified organic.
This wine boasts a highly aromatic, pure, and surprisingly fresh bouquet. The first impression reveals crisp aromas of rose petals, soon subtly complemented by notes of mint and licorice that add profound depth to the nose. On the palate, the wine impresses with its rich, yet incredibly precise and "purified" structure. Dense yet silky tannins perfectly harmonize with its natural freshness, creating an exceptionally long, complex, and captivating finish.
This impressive character stems from a masterfully crafted blend of four grape varieties, reflecting the finest traditions of the Left Bank. The dominant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon provides the wine with a firm backbone, exceptional aging potential, and a concentration of dark berries. It is harmoniously complemented by Merlot, which enriches the wine with a velvety texture, roundness, and softness. The final aromatic complexity and spicy notes are achieved through carefully measured proportions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
The wine is born from the exceptional gravel (graves) soils where the estate's vineyards are rooted. The harvest is done entirely by hand, with the berries meticulously sorted multiple times. The winemaking process utilizes a modern gravity-flow winery, allowing the berries to enter the vats naturally without mechanical pumping. The wine is then aged for approximately 18 months in French oak barrels.
Serve at 16–18 °C with game, roast lamb, or hard, mature cheeses.
Château Smith Haut Lafitte is currently one of Pessac-Léognan’s most successful wineries. Despite a long history of 800 years, this farm was not famous for its extremely high quality wine, but that changed when it was purchased in 1990 by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. Former ski champions and sports shop owners have relentlessly begun to renovate and modernize the winery, which now boasts a multi-stage grape picking system (grapes are selected both by hand and with an optical sorter), an in-house ripening workshop and a state-of-the-art winery. Fermentation of the wine takes place in 30 different fermentation tanks. In the vineyards, work is also carried out to achieve the highest quality - the harvest is hand-picked only and the grapes are grown and cared for in accordance with the principles of ecology and biodynamic viticulture. All these investments did not go in vain - since 2000, the quality of both white and red wine wines has started to improve incredibly.
