2019 Château Smith Haut-Lafitte Grand Cru Classé de Graves

The blend for the Smith Haut Lafitte 2019 is 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, harvested from September 17 to October 10. The wine is aged in French oak barriques, 60% new. |In the glass this Château Smith Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan (Grand Cru Classé de Graves) is deep garnet purple in colour and is downright spectacular on the nose, sensually rolling from the glass with notes of warm cassis, chocolate covered cherries, chocolate cake and raspberries with hints of cinnamon toast, lilac, camphor and iron ore. The palate is medium to full bodied and combines remarkable energy and clarity with ripe black fruit, framed by deliciously ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastically invigorating freshness, finishing long with mineral-tinged fireworks. Parker ends his review with: "....Stunning!"

“It’s difficult in Bordeaux to have both high acidity and good ripeness,” began Fabien Teitgen, technical director of Château Smith Haut Lafitte. “But this year you have both. On cool nights, the acidity was preserved nicely. Overall, 2019 was cooler than 2018. We have the impression that 2019 was warm, but overall it was cooler. The wines are fresher and brighter. 2018 is powerful, but 2019 has intensity.” As an organic producer, Smith Haut Lafitte was one of the châteaux hit hard by powdery mildew in 2018. “In 2018, we lost half the crop,” Teitgen admitted. “In 2019, we didn’t really have any problems. The yields were normal for us.”

(97-998+)/100 Parker
99/100 James Suckling

FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will often also receive a nice discount . You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Pick up' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.