2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte***
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Tasting notes
Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte has captured the beautiful, fragrant, scented aromatics you find in the top wines of 2021. The tannins are also of note, concentrated yet very fine and build a beautifully delicate structure on the palate. The fruit is bright, fresh and lifted in character with redcurrant, red cherry and cassis flavours with a lovely menthol freshness on the finish. Overall, the wine is very well balanced, no doubt helped by the six different sorting processes carried out at the estate through the harvest. Yields were down 50%, cropping at just 20 hl/ha. It is one of a handful of top wines tasted in Pessac-Léognan. Aged in 50% new oak. Blend: 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Critic scores
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Gentle structure, fine tannic architecture, reflecting a more challenging vintage than any of the three that had come before it. It starts of well, unrolls with a focus on the slate texture to the tannins, a little short on the finish, reflecting the careful precision of the selection but the reality of fruit that wasn't as ripe as the previous few vintages. Fabien Teitgen technical director.
Tasted blind. Sweaty-socks aroma. Big and rich. It’s certainly a heavyweight. Needs just a little lift-off to get airborne. But it certainly makes an impact! A bit of bitter oiliness on the end. Alcoholic. (JR)
63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Dark purple. Rather dumb on the nose. Clearly it was quite a struggle to make a silk purse out of this rather astringent vintage. The wine won’t last forever and should always be drunk with food. There is more flesh than in many 2021s but still … (JR)