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Smith Haut Lafitte 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyCabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Smith Haut Lafitte

Label

Tasting Notes

The 2015 Smith Haut-Lafitte has a detailed and focused bouquet with blackberry, cedar and freshly rolled tobacco aromas, unfurling with each swirl of the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannin, taut and crisp with cedar and graphite. Unashamedly classic in style, it has impressive depth and good grip on the finish. This is destined to give a lot of pleasure. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

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.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

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.

98+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, November 2022

Tasted blind. Spice and fruit and vibrancy. Tea leaves rather than drying finish. Good savour.
Drink 2023-2037

17.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

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

18
Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, November 2017

Daniel and Florence Cathiard transformed this property in the early 1990s and have been making very individual, sexy wines since then which combine flavours of classic earthy Graves with silky and seductive new oak from barrels produced by their in-house cooper. The 67 hectare vineyard is planted with 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. In 2015 the percentage of Cabernet is a bit higher than normal and there will be a special black label to celebrate 25 years of ownership by the Cathiards. They believe that their 2015 is similar to the 2009 (but with less concentration and high acidity) and also similar to the 2010 but with less power and more finesse. Deep blueish-purple colour with an exotic, ripe nose of blueberry, blackberry and creamy vanilla from new oak. The palate has a mouthfilling texture from structured, yet ripe tannins, giving great volume and a supple texture. Juicy and powerful with layers of black cherry and blackberry fruit. Long, spicy and complex on the finish with real lift from sweet vanilla and cherry blossom. Plush and ripe, this is modern but very well made.

93+
Farr Vintners, March 2016

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

96+
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

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.

92/95
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

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

96
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

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.

17.5+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 Smith Haut Lafitte has a lush and generous bouquet with black cherries, raspberry and rose petal scents, those shucked oyster shells that I noticed out of barrel surfacing with aeration. There is wonderful purity here and it blossoms with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle grip on the entry, layers of red berry fruit, allspice, cedar and tobacco with a structure and insistent finish that suggests it will age over many years. This is a sophisticated young Smith Haut Lafitte, precocious in talent and bound to age with style and class. This is a seriously fine Smith Haut Lafitte that I feel will get better and better with age. One to watch. Anticipated maturity: 2020 - 2045.

95+
Neal Martin, March 2018

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.

95/97
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

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

97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

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

17.5+
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2018

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

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.