Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, Pessac Léognan, 2023
Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 2023 - 2023 was not a particularly challenging vintage for the whites according to Technical Director Fabien Tetigen, as long as you used the vines’ canopies to counteract the heat spikes. The one watch out was harvest date, though, timing of picking was key – neither rushing nor waiting too long. Judging by this wine, the Smith Haut Lafitte team got it spot on, for this is one of the whites of the vintage as far as we are concerned. A blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris – this is a particularly intense but well balanced Smith Haut Lafitte. It carries its concentration well. Seamless but endless flavours of citrus, stone, herbs and mint flow briskly across the palate. A touch of creaminess signposts full ripeness, but is complimentary to the pristinely fresh fruit. Showing well already but, like all great wines, this is holding a touch in reserve, too.
critic reviews
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!
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.
The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc was picked from August 23 to September 9 at 36hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a reticent bouquet at first, requiring a few swirls of the glass to reveal touches of orange pith, peach skin, wild fennel and light pressed white flower scents. The palate is very well balanced with a lovely creamy texture, counterbalanced by the taut line of acidity. Very poised and focused, it's somehow almost Corton-Charlemagne-inspired on the finish (perhaps due to the umami). This is a seriously fine white Pessac-Léognan.
Aromas of white fruits, crisp orchard fruits, spices, smoke, spring flowers and pear introduce the 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, layered and textured wine with a fleshy core of fruit and racy acids, concluding with a mineral, fresh and long finish highlighted by delicate notes of thyme and garrigue. Comprising 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris and matured in 50% new oak, this blend is among the finest white wines produced at this address.
product details
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