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  • Country ranking ?

    443
  • Producer ranking ?

    15
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Duck Breast & Lentil and Parsnip Salad

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The Story

Each Château has its own style. What would be, according to you, the specificities of Château Smith Haut Lafitte White?

About our style, I would say that either you love our wines or you hate them. But be careful, if you do love them, it is for life… Our style is quite special, even paradoxical.
We have 90% of Sauvignon Blanc in our blend, however this proportion is almost unidentifiable on a blind tasting because of the age of our vines, ...

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Wine Information

2011, A climate with temper. The vintage 2011 can be analyzed dividing the year into two opposite weather phases that were determinant for the white grapes characteristics:

• First period: in advance compared to regular Bordeaux standards, the warm and dry weather induced an early vintage with harvest starting on the 18th of August.

• Second period: a summer with a quite low temperature average that allowed a slow maturation of the grape...

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Vintage 2011

The 2011 vintage is not easy to handle.

Smith Haut Lafitte not only makes great white and red wine from Bordeaux in Pessac Léognan, they are also at the cutting edge of technology. They were one of the first Bordeaux wine producers to begin using optical sorting, which came in handy with the difficult 2011 Bordeaux harvest. Fabien Teitgen, long-time general manager, joined us for a long detailed conversation about what happened at Smith Hau...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

15 tasting notes

Tasting note

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Written Notes

agnum. Towards lemon yellow. Apples, grapefruits, minerals, ripe citrus and orange blossoms nose, some vanilla. Fresh acidity, fruity, creamy, rounded, intense, fokused, nuanced and long. 95

  • 95p

Château Smith Haut Lafitte white 2011 is one of the best wines we have ever produced: a rare perfection in the crystal-clear balance of this wine. 

Its color is pale yellow with light green hue. The first nose is bright and vibrant, dominated by white-flesh fruits. Swirling it releases an explosion of aromas and freshness with white fruits (white peach, citrus fruits, lemon, grapefruit…), white flowers and lime-tree flowers. The nose is very expressive, complex and elegant. 

In mouth, the wine shows its vivid tension and intense character right at the attack. The concentration and the beautiful maturity follow; and balance the aroma freshness. This mouth is superbly well-shaped between matter and lightness with the freshness leading an endless length. White and citrus fruits, white flowers, spices, flint, vanilla… combine in a demonstration of aromatic complexity where the last word remains pleasure. 

Blending 90% Sauvignon Blanc with equal parts Semillon and Sauvignon Gris, the wine will be aged in 50% new oak. Fresh-squeezed lemon, honeysuckle and grapefruit in the nose, which opens to a fleshy, mineral-driven, lively, concentrated and fresh citrus oil finish tinged with vanilla. 94-96 Pts
  • 95p
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Information

Origin

Martillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Above Average

Fake factory

None

Other wines from this producer

Château Cantelys

Château Cantelys blanc

Château Smith Haut Lafitte

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Casher

Hauts de Smith Blanc

Le Petit Haut Lafitte

Le Petit Haut Lafitte Blanc

Les Hauts de Smith

Les Hauts de Smith rouge

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