Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte - Pessac-Leognan - white - 2020

Wine Region:Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux - France

Grapes: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris Organically grown

Tasting notes: 
This wine is pale yellow in appearance. The nose is already very expressive with notes of yellow fruits (peach, apricot), white flowers (acacias, orange blossoms), and a beautiful elegance of citrus fruits. The attack on the palate is perfectly balanced with a nice tension. The wine then appears ample, broad, dense with a velvety texture, and the acidity takes over the leadership on a very long finish with great minerality. The aromatic on the palate is similar to the one on the nose (yellow fruits, floral notes) and greater complexity with more mineral, spicy notes while flint stones give the signature of the great terroir.

Expert ratings: 

• 100Jeb Dunnuck

  Lastly, and pure perfection in white wine, the 2020 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is based on 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Semillon that was aged in 50% new oak. This massively rich, concentrated, powerful white offers a heavenly nose of honeyed flowers, orange marmalade, lemon grass, and toasted bread, with a building sense of salinity and minerality that shows on the finish. Drink this stunningly rich, layered, concentrated 2020 over the coming two decades.

• 98Wine Enthusiast
  This is a beautiful white wine in its balance and in its elegantly textured fruit and acidity. With richness balanced by the wine's crisp green fruits, there is complexity and depth here that gives the wine great intensity. For long-term aging.
  
  
• 97James Suckling

  Aromas of grapefruit, melon, ripe apple, and lemon. Lots of lemon curd as well. Full and layered with plenty of fine phenolics. Energetic and vivid. Minerally and lightly chewy at the end. From organic grapes. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% sauvignon gris and 5% semillon.

• 96Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  The 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Sémillon. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak, 50% new, within which it will age for 12 months on lees with bâtonnage before spending a further two to three months in tank. It prances out of the glass with vivacious notes of lime blossoms, Golden Delicious apples and green mango, plus hints of coriander seed, shaved ginger and wet pebbles. The medium-bodied palate possesses lovely harmony even at this nascent stage, featuring bright apple and citrus flavors with soft acidity and a chalky finish. 

• 95Wine Spectator

  Suave and caressing in feel, this drapes beautifully, with creamed yellow apple, gooseberry and lemon curd notes on the flattering side, offset by hints of tarragon, blanched almond and salted butter on the racier side. The finish is enhanced with paraffin and smoke hints. Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. Drink now.

About the winery:Thanks to its 55 hectares of superb gravelly vineyards, Smith Haut Lafitte is often referred to as the "archetypical Graves." The estate's history goes back to the Crusades, and a Scottish navigator, George Smith, who became the owner of the estate in the 18th century. He was followed by M. Duffour-Dubergier, Mayor of Bordeaux, and then Louis Eschenauer, a famous wine shipper.

In 1990, Daniel and Florence Cathiard also fell under the spell of this beautiful estate. Since then, they have restored the 16th century tower, renovated the 18th century manor house, built two underground cellars, went back to traditional vine growing methods without chemical herbicides and set up their own cooperage. The perfect elegance, excellent balance and fine structure of Smith Haut Lafitte's red and white wines are the ultimate reflection of the current owners' total commitment to quality.