Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2023
A claret fit for a King. The Cathiards were visited by Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camillain 2023. The resulting wine is suitably regal with a gorgeous perfume of freshly cut flowers, cedar, crushed rocks, spices, and beautifully fragrant black cherry and mulberries. There's a very impressive core of bittersweet fruit and graphite, very clear fruited with a wash of velvety creme de cassis inflected with earthy minerals. Texturally this is very impressive with a seamless delivery of fruit and a composed, graceful, tannic frame. Polished but with classical elements, this is a beautifully measured SHL, which feels harmonious and very classy. Bravo. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, aged in 60% new oak barrels.
critic reviews
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is aging in 60% new oak and it is opaque purple-black in color. It needs a bit of shaking to brink forth an eruption of blackcurrant preserves, ripe plums, and baked black cherries, leading to hints of chocolate mint, violets, and unsmoked cigars, with a waft of pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular black fruits, delivering a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and earthy.
Cabernet dominant in terms of aromatics and weight through the palate, opening with fennel, sage, violets, peonies, squid ink, cocoa bean, espresso, with the texture softening and becoming creamier through the mid palate. The hidden depths and slow build that elevates the always-seductive character of Smith Haut-Lafitte into one of the truly exceptional wines of Bordeaux are fully on display. Wine director Fabien Teitgen on his 28th vintage at the estate - and this is the vintage where King Charles and Camilla visited the property, so it comes with a commemorative label. 26hl/h yield, harvest September 8 to October 5.
The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte comes with a label celebrating the visit of King Charles III that year, though I presume it was not his advice to include more Cabernet Sauvignon (70%). It was cropped at 26hL/ha. Matured in 60% new oak, it has a lovely bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, crushed violet and light oyster shell scents. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, gentle grip, fine depth and a sapid, classically lined finish. One of the more structured Smith Haut Lafittes in recent years, it deserves four or five years in bottle. Excellent.
The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is a brilliant wine, revealing a complex, elegantly oaky bouquet of dark wild berries, mulberries, blueberries, flowers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and rich, it has a fleshy core of fruit with good concentration and refined, structured tannins that segues into a long, penetrating and mineral finish. Crafted with an unprecedented majority of Cabernet Sauvignondue to mildew affecting the Merlotthis Smith Haut Lafitte highlights a distinctly Cabernet-driven texture that authentically reflects its terroir despite a slightly more structured character. This blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, matured in 60% new oak barrels, represents one-third of the entire crop.
product details
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