Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte 2021

Weinwisser: "63 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 % Merlot, 3 % Cabernet Franc, 1 % Petit Verdot, 22 hl/ha. Verführerisches Bouquet, edle Cassiswürze, frischer Schattenmorellensaft und betörende Veilchen. Im zweiten Ansatz Alpenheidelbeere, Lakritze und heller Tabak. Am energiegeladenen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, stützender Rasse, reifem engmaschigem Tanningerüst und trainiertem Körper. Im konzentrierten langanhaltenden Finale blaubeerige Konturen, Earl-Grey-Note und fein körnige Adstringenz, kann noch zulegen."

Suckling: "Lots of clove, black-licorice and cigar-box character. Already perfumed. Medium body with fine, chalky and precise tannins. Lead-pencil shavings. Well framed and structured with a fresh, lengthy and spicy finish. Extremely long and intense. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes."

Galloni: "The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte is fabulous. Rich and explosive in the glass, the 2021 possesses tremendous intensity, much of that the result of low yields of just 20-22 hectoliters per hectare, about half of what is typical here. The tannins are a bit firm today, but there appears to be more than enough fruit behind all of that structure. Vivid aromatics further suggest all the 2021 needs is time. I can't wait to see how it ages."

Wine Cellar Insider: "Dark in color, the wine opens with blackberry, boysenberry, flowers, cocoa, licorice, chocolate, and black cherry. The wine is soft, polished, elegant, and refined, with silky tannins, energy, and purity to the fruit, which you can taste in the mid-palate. The finish delivers a precise note of chocolate-covered mint and cherries with a mineral, chalky endnote. Blending 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, 13.5% ABV pH of 3.65. The harvest took place September 22 through October 14. Yields were low at only 22 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2047."

Wine Advocate: "A brilliant wine, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte offers up aromas of blackberries, violets, coniferous forest floor and dark chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, it's deep and impressively multidimensional, with good concentration, beautifully refined tannins and notable purity of fruit, concluding with a long, penetrating finish. The fruit of a severe selection, this blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot is testament to the Cathiard family's unwavering commitment to quality."

Decanter: "Gorgeous aromas on the nose, so expressive with blackcurrant, plum, damson, strawberry and red cherry all abounding out of the glass. This has style and substance on the palate, the sour cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry covered in the terroir markers of slate, graphite, pencil lead and liquorice which are the drivers on the palate, the fruit taking a backseat right now though there is cohesion with verticality and an undercurrent of freshness. The energy is there, almost latent, it’s under the surface, brimming, not yet ready to go but it will be there in time. This has refinement and you feel they haven't pushed too hard. It’s definitely got the markers of the vintage, the coolness of the year, showing the grapes and terroir even more clearly in the glass, especially the spiced Cabernet aspects. I love the style and the no frills effect. It’s got a super long length too with enough class on show you know it will age well."

Dunnuck: "The flagship 2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte checks in as 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot. It's a rich, powerful wine, delivering lots of ripe black fruits (currants, some cassis), notes of scorched earth and graphite, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a great mid-palate. It shows the straight, focused style of the vintage yet brings plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, building tannins, and outstanding length."

Falstaff: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, dezente Ockerrandaufhellung. Zart nach Lakritze und Brombeerkonfitüre, feine Edelholzwürze, ein Hauch von Nougat. Mittlere Komplexität, feine Kirschfrucht, gute Frische, gut integrierte, feine Tannine, salzig-zitronig im Abgang, bald zugänglich, verfügt über Reifepotenzial."

Neal Martin: "The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte was picked from September 22 to October 14, and matured in 60% new oak. It has an open, expressive bouquet of blackberry, freshly rolled tobacco and subtle crushed rock aromas, well-defined though obviously not as flamboyant as the previous three vintages. The palate is mediumbodied, fresh and mineral-driven, with fine annins, a touch of chalkiness, and hints of seaweed on the estuarine finish, even though it lies a few kilometers from the Gironde! Classic in style, and maybe a little austere for some on the finish, yet it feels long in the mouth. Fabien Teitgen and his team have overseen a superb Smith Haut-Lafitte, even though I suspect that it will not reach the heights of the 2010 or the 2016."

Perroti-Brown: "The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, aging in 60% new oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling before it bursts with vibrant black cherries, fresh blackberries, and blackcurrant cordial scents, followed by hints of violets, star anise, and cedar chest. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers a great density of fresh black fruits and earthy layers, framed by firm, ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, leading to a long finish with a spicy kick on this very impressive wine. At 22 hl/ha, yields are less than half of 2019 and about half of 2020, with 1/3 of the crop going into the Grand Vin this year."