Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac Léognan, 2022
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, tasted En Primeur, offers a more muscular, impactful interpretation of the vintage, as it exudes grassy citrus and tropical notes of pineapple and passion fruit. Quite solid and firm on the palate, those 60-80 year old vines make their presence felt. It may need a little time to unwind, or perhaps is more clearly a wine for the table, the benefit of the doubt suggests that these wines do come good with time. 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon and 5% Semillon Gris (which imparts an extra kick of creaminess in the wine, we are told). Raised in 50% new oak.
critic reviews
The blend is 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% each Sauvignon Gris and Semillon, and the fermentation and élevage was in a mixture of 50% each new barrels and second-fill barrels. A nose of perfumed talc, meringue laced with mint flowers and lemon, with herbal notes too, suggestive of rosemary and lemon balm, and a finely crushed, powdery layer of minerals. It has a real presence on the palate, showing cohesion and definition, with good grip, plenty of energy and drive. A delicate bitterness adds to the mix, but it has acidity as well, albeit a modest degree, and it struggles a little in the broad and flavoursome generosity of the vintage. A big and broad-shouldered style, fresh and bright, with a higher alcohol of course, but with balance too. This will keep, thanks to those phenolics, but it will never have the tension of a truly great vintage. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14.5%.
The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc—which Fabien Teitgen told me was not picked too early like other châteaux—has a very fine bouquet of mainly yellow fruit, Anjou pear and beeswax scents, as a fennel tincture gradually surfaces in the glass. The palate is well balanced with lemon curd, white peach and a hint of mango. It shows fine delineation and a little more tension than its peers, representing one of the best examples in a vintage that did not really favor dry whites.
This has structure and depth, serious tension, with slate, vibrant citrus, graphite, white pear, apricot, aniseed, liquorice, star anise, creamy but with a slice of steel that cuts through it. Brilliant quality, this is a standout white. Harvest August 18 to September 2. 50% new oak. Technical director Fabien Teitgen.
It appears likely that the 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc will overtake its 2019 counterpart as one of the most successful white wines this estate has produced to date, something that's especially impressive in the context of the vintage. Exhibiting aromas of linden, menthol, crisp orchard fruit and smoke, its medium to full-bodied, fleshy and crystalline, with racy acids and an unctuos mid-palate. Chalky structuring dry extract makes its presence felt on the long, mineral finish. This is a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris.
product details
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