| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This is a very polished and precise young wine with beautiful depth and intensity. Full and sexy. It shows blueberry and black currant character with walnut and chocolate undertones. The tannins have a lovely texture. Joy to taste.
Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2015 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge needs a lot of swirling to begin to reveal profound notes of blackcurrant cordial, preserved plums, and wild blueberries, followed by hints of Indian spices, fragrant soil, wood smoke, and tar. The full-bodied palate is laden with black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, framed by very firm, ripe, grainy tannins and fantastic tension, leading to epic length and depth on the finish of this stunning wine.
Tasted blind. Spice and fruit and vibrancy. Tea leaves rather than drying finish. Good savour.
Drink 2023-2037
Charry oak and plenty of dark fruit on the nose. Rich, powerful and still beautifully balanced between the fruit and the structure. Long, chewy, dark finish. Great promise. (JH) 13%
Drink 2025-2040
Another wine from the Cathiard family I was able to taste on multiple occasions is the 2015 Smith Haut Lafitte and it’s brilliant stuff readers should snatch up. Offering a huge nose of chocolatey dark fruits, roasted herbs, graphite and flowers, this big, rich, opulent beauty has building tannin, loads of structure and great mid-palate. It will drink nicely for 20+ years. 2018 - 2038
Depth on the nose the palate has brooding richness layers of black fruits. Sweet and ripe in the middle fleshy and supple but there is balance with bilberry under the rich black cherry and chocolate. Sweet and ripe at the back yet the finish is stylish lighter and long.
Right up there with the best Left Bank reds in 2015, this is the latest in a line of impressive
releases from Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Grassy, aromatic and herbal, with blueberry and
blackcurrant sweetness, tangy acidity and a core of serious, well integrated tannin
embellished by stylish, perfumed oak. Drink: 2025-35
Dark and meaty initially, with power and richness, this is tempered by subtle tannins and serious length. The oak is epic
and this heightens the fruit immeasurably. This is a very successful Smith Haut Lafitte and it is a wine which will start to
drink sooner than expected but also live for longer than hoped for, too.
The 2015 Smith-Haut-Lafitte is adorned with a special label to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the château and the 25th vintage made under the ownership of Daniel and Florence Cathiard. It is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, picked between 23 September until 12 October with the Cabernet Franc. Matured in 65% new oak (although technical director Fabien Teitgen mentioned that he could have added more if he felt it would benefit), it has a very intense, blueberry and crème de cassis scented bouquet, a touch more opulent than its peers with hints of freshly shucked oyster shell developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with filigree tannin couched in gorgeous, satin-textured black cherry and cassis fruit, tinged with cedar and pencil shavings. It lingers very long and sensually in the mouth, completing a sophisticated and powerful Smith Haut-Lafitte that should age in splendid fashion.
This vintage is a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, matured in 65% new oak barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple, the 2015 Smith Haut Lafitte has a totally dazzling nose of exotic spices—star anise, fenugreek and Sichuan pepper—over a core of chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries, plum preserves, violets and earthy wafts of truffles, moss, tilled black soil and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced and packing a lot of flavor into a relatively modest package, it fills the mouth with spice and herb-laced black and blue fruit layers, supported by very ripe, very finely grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length. This is already a show-stopping, heart-pounding beauty, but should also age incredibly! 2022 - 2048
Deep crimson. Fragrant and fresh with lots of tannins – far, far more than in the 2017! Just chock-a-block with everything. A wine to hang on to but good and dry with Graves freshness. No one should be disappointed with this anniversary bottling.
Drink 2028-2045
New black label to celebrate the Cathiards' anniversary and that of the property. Very dark. Comfortable base and lots of perfume. Round and sweet. Tense and tight. An excitingly taut package that promises well. Drink 2024-2040
