Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge 2021 (1.5L)

96-97 JS / 95 JA / 93-95 WA / 93-95+ JD / 92-94 WI / 92-94 WI / 92 DE

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. - James Suckling

This is a cool climate savoury vintage where the best wines offer clarity of flavour and precision, and you are given a masterclass here in how to do that effectively. Well balanced and succulent architecture, plentiful blackberry, cassis and black cherry fruits, cracked pepper, sage, liqourice, crushed rock, campfire smoke, elongated tannins. This will fatten up over ageing, because has all the elements in place to ensure it does so gracefully, the triumverate of tannins, acidity and fruit. Harvest September 22 to October 14. 60% new oak. 23hl/h yield. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

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. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate
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. - Jeb Dunnuck

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. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Dark chocolate, liquorice and slate with pretty notes of rose and violet that softly edge the nose. The raspberry, strawberry and blueberry fruit has a touch of sharpness, though I love the edges of chalk and slate minerality that give it real direction and linearity with little movement up or down as the flavours travel across the palate. All the elements are well delivered, elegant and really in focus. This has excellent attention to detail and lots going on. A characterful pick in 2021. - Georgina Hindle, Decanter