chateau smith haut lafitte grand cru classe pessac leognan

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan, 2014

Name: Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Grand Cru Classé, Pessac Léognan
Brand: Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Price: 974.46 GBP

95/100

Inside Bordeaux

The Wine Independent

91/100

Vinous

Available Vintages

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in bond

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2014
75cl
DP
£81.20
2014
12x75cl
DP
£974.46

Justerini & Brooks Tasting note

Plush black and red berries frame the entry with black cherry, plum and mulberry flavours adding nuance. A little age has softened the tannins beautifully, they are now svelte and mellow but with just enough bite to work gracefully with an assortment of food. A hint of sous bois, damp earth and leather are starting to develop, but this is still primal and sumptuous. A lovely floral lilt provided by the Petit Verdot melds with a gentle Christmas spice character.

delivery information

GUARANTEED PROVENANCE

Provenance in fine wine

When it comes to purchasing wine, provenance is of upmost 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

91/100

Neal Martin,

Vinous

The 2014 Smith Haut Lafitte has an outgoing, opulent bouquet with high-toned red fruit infused with meat juices, an Italian deli and a few black truffle shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, fresh with a peppery mid-palate. Just a little attenuation towards the finish and not quite as vivacious as four years ago; nevertheless, it is a delicious Pessac-Léognan that is drinking ideally now, though I don't feel its longevity is as long as I originally predicted. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10-Year-On tasting.

drinking window 2024 - 2044

date of review 03/2024

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,

The Wine Independent

The 2014 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of sauteed herbs and tobacco leaf lead to a core of kirsch and raspberry leaves with an underlying medicinal waft. The medium-bodied palate is lively and chewy, with loads of herbal accents to the red berry flavors, finishing a tad firm and rugged. Because this wine was tasted blind with the Southwold Group, and the note/score is very different from my previous reviews of it, I will refrain from scoring it until I have the opportunity to taste it again to confirm the bottle’s condition and my assessment.

drinking window 2024 - 2034

date of review 03/2024

95/100

Jane Anson,

Inside Bordeaux

They know how to deliver sleek, poised and subtly gourmet wines even in the more austere vintages at Smith Haut Lafitte, and this is delicious, great quality, fine but firm tannins, opening up but still focus on primary fruits, cassis and blueberry, grilled oak, lovely stuff with a mouthwatering finish. 80% new oak, Fabien Teitgen technical director.

drinking window 2024 - 2042

date of review 02/2024

product details

Specifications

Country:

France

Region:

Bordeaux

Appellation:

Pessac Léognan

Producer:

Château Smith Haut Lafitte

style:

Red Wine

Grape Variety:

Cab Sauvignon Merlot

abv:

13%

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.