Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2019

The 2019 Smith Haut Lafitte is a dense, explosive wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, mocha, new leather and licorice all saturate the palate in a wine that balances unctuous texture and structure. The 2019 is an opulent Smith Haut Lafitte that is going to need a few years to shed some baby fat. It is a powerhouse to be sure. Dried herbs, leather, tobacco, incense and graphite lend striking savory nuance throughout.

A broad, rich and caressing wine, with a lovely display of cassis, plum purée and blackberry pâte de fruit notes. There's form thanks to a buried alder note, along with sweet tobacco and iron accents on the finish. A strong showing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036. 10,000 cases made, 2,400 cases imported.

With 60% new oak there is plenty of weight and alcohol evident on first tasting. But as the wine breathes, the fragrant, ripe dark fruit characters emerge, combined with elegant tannins and fresh acidity to keep everything in balance. A seductive, velvety textured wine with great concentration and purity – this will age magnificently.

Intense blackberry and graphite character coming out of the glass, together with dried violets, ink and some asphalt. Full-bodied with wonderfully integrated tannins that spread across the palate and then draw you deep into the wine. Lead-pencil and blackcurrant aftertaste. Tightly wound with a cashmere-like texture. A whole and thought-provoking wine. Try after 2028 and beyond.

Almost opaque in color, the nose grabs your focus with your first swirl and sniff thanks to all the blackberries, smoke, black cherry, espresso, wet earth, cocoa, and flowers. On the palate, the wine is already expressive. Voluptuous, seductive, silky, fresh, and rich, the layers of fruit coat your palate, leaving you with a sensuous finish packed with waves of dark red fruits that linger and expand. The wine is so good now that we drank the bottle with dinner, knowing that over the next 2–3 decades, it’s only going to get better and better. Drink from 2025–2055.

Reminding me a little of the 2009, the 2019 Château Smith Haut Lafitte has a rich, powerful style, with cassis, blueberry, and black raspberry fruit alongside chalky minerality, smoked earth, tobacco, and pencil-shaving nuances. A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, this richly, unctuously textured wine shows terrific concentration, sweet tannins, and the vintage’s hallmark elegance and finesse. One of the most concentrated, powerful wines of the year, it needs 4–5 years of bottle age (or a hearty decant) and will evolve for 30+ years if stored properly. Not enough can be said about what proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, as well as winemaker Fabien Teitgen, continue to achieve at this estate.

Kunz barrel sample 2020: dense, velvety, powerful, complex bouquet with lactic notes, black cherries, delicate damsons, mocha, liquorice, flint, dark chocolate. Finely woven, elegant palate with powerful, dark aromatics, fine tannins, creamy texture, concentrated fruit, long, powerful, aromatic finish. Has room to improve further.

Sink into this concentrated, textured, creamy wine, full of liquorice, blueberry, cassis and black cherry fruits, then let the pencil lead, cigar box and campfire notes spiral upwards out of the glass as it opens. Clearly shows why the signature acidity of Bordeaux, even in the best vintages, is so welcome – it gives focus and a taut, confident feel through the core of the wine, and clearly suggests how well it will age. 60% new oak. Tasted in September last year, same impression of an exceptional wine. In organic conversion, Fabien Teitgen technical director, harvest from September 17 for the reds.

[ En Primeur 2019 scores: 90 ] null

An opulent nose that irresistibly draws you in, with notes of dark chocolate ganache, cherry, Ente plum, and elderberry. A breathtaking palate of black fruits, silky and velvety, feline and suave, that makes you want to curl up in an armchair by the fire. Immense substance and tannins as fine as a ribbon lend it outstanding presence and brilliance, while the finish is long and languorous.

The nose is fresh, complex, and elegant, offering a fine grain, lovely ripeness, and a certain creamy edge. It reveals notes of boysenberry, creamy blackcurrant and, more subtly, pulpy strawberry, joined by small touches of tangy/crushed raspberry, as well as fine hints of cornflower, lily, saline gravel, and discreet touches of pepper. The palate is pulpy, balanced, elegant, and well-framed, delivering freshness, indulgence, fine definition, a tangy backbone, minerality, restraint, appealing volume/roundness, a tense edge, and creaminess in perfect balance. A beautiful structure—powerful yet controlled and restrained. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of crushed blackberry, pulpy/juicy/fresh plum, and, more lightly, raspberry, with touches of fleshy strawberry, chocolate, toasted almond, toasty nuances, fine hints of star anise and pepper, discreet notes of background caramelization, and an imperceptible hint of violet. The tannins are elegant, heady, and distinguished. Lovely work on the bitters. A subtle hint of pleasant cocoa/grilled bitterness lingers on the finish.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, delicate, fruity, pure, and slightly truffled. Caressing from the very first sip, then very flavorful mid-palate, with a silky yet airy body; the wine gently strokes the palate, precise, offering plenty of flavor that lingers. Great, sappy length.

96–98. Barrel Sample. This sophisticated, rich wine is full of dense blackberry fruits. It is an exuberant celebration of organically grown fruit, and also shows the firm structure to age well in the cellar.