chateau smith haut lafitte cru classe pessac leognan

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Cru Classé Pessac Léognan, 2010

Name: Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Cru Classé Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Price: 1546.25 GBP

94/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

all 2009 2010

delivery

in bond

Broking

2010
12x75cl
DP
£1,546.25

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Daniel and Florence Cathiard have rescued the fortunes of this estate. Daniel jokingly says that he was given the 61 and thought the wine was so good that he bought the estate. It was only when he had the keys that he discovered that 61 was an exceptional vintage. It's a good story, but we don't see through the self deprecation; this couple are amongst the most charming and also most astute in Bordeaux. The trio of Domaine de Chevalier, Haut Bailly and Smith Haut Lafitte have become the unofficial super seconds of Pessac Leognan. The quality at these estates now rival the established order and are some of the most thrilling wines to be found on either bank of the Gironde. The 2010 Smith Haut Lafitte offers heady floral notes, plums, violets, sweet mulberry fruit, griotte liqueur, high toned berries; fragrant complex and polished. The palate is awash with suave crème de mûre fruit, cassis, with notes of spice, pepper and sweet earth. Texturally, this is silky smooth and possesses a wonderfully refined modern sheen. There is a bristling energy and tension to the '10, which excites and is so moreish. Outstanding.

delivery information

GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of utmost importance. A wine’s history – where it’s sourced from and how it’s been stored – can have an enormous influence on the eventual enjoyment it provides. At Justerini & Brooks, we can trace nearly every case back to the domaine, estate or Château it originally came from; we ship from over 200 wine producers throughout the world.

Wines not bought directly from the vineyard are either sourced from trusted suppliers, with whom we share the same philosophy and rigour in buying, or from our own network of Cellarers customers. These customers’ wines are stored in optimal conditions in Octavian Corsham and, in the vast majority of cases, have been stored by us since the wine was first shipped. We do not purchase wine from auctions.

We feel it is equally important to for our customers that the case they buy and leave in storage with us is exactly the same case they subsequently have delivered. This may sound obvious and straightforward, yet we are one of very few merchants to have taken measures to ensure this.

We have created a system where every case is independent, thereby ensuring a trail of ownership and peace of mind for every customer.

The Journey

Justerinis ensures that every case of wine stored with Cellarers (Wines) Ltd has a unique identifier and customer’s name, almost unheard of in the industry as it is expensive to administer. These details are printed and placed on every case which is logged and recorded under your account name and kept in the world’s most renowned storage facility, Octavian Corsham.

This information is sent from our systems to the warehouse every day to ensure the trail of ownership is verified and upheld.

While customer reserves are stored in Corsham, our physical stocks are kept in Hoddesdon, further providing a geographical separation between customers’ wines with Cellarers and Justerinis’ own stock.

Further Reassurance

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is a legally separate limited company from Justerini & Brooks which currently holds approximately £450 million worth of customer reserves. It is fully insured to catastrophic loss. Many merchants will state that wine in their care is fully insured, but in reality this is on an individual case basis with insufficient cover for total loss as this is prohibitively expensive. The cover provided by Octavian and Justerini & Brooks is unmatched.

Cellarers (Wines) Ltd is audited by PwC every year.

Critic Reviews

94/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2010 Smith Haut Lafitte has a tertiary, tobacco-tinged bouquet that opens nicely with aeration, though remains resolutely classic in style. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, fine depth, very focused with a precise and very intense finish that is very persistent. There is real quality here, a 2010 that will age with style. Superb. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

drinking window 2026 - 2066

date of review 04/2020

product details

Specifications

Country:

France

Region:

Bordeaux

Appellation:

Pessac Léognan

Producer:

Château Smith Haut Lafitte

style:

Red Wine

Grape Variety:

Cab Sauvignon Merlot

abv:

14.5%

allergen information

This product may contain sulphites. Full allergen information is available upon request, please call our Customer Relations Team on +44 (0)20 7484 6430.