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Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2015

Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Bordeaux, France

Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Bordeaux France
  • 99
    Points
  • The 254 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 31 Pros of
    32 recommend
    this wine
361 99
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    215

  • Producer ranking ?

    6

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    from 2020

  • Food Pairing

    grilled beef & Roasted lamb chops

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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 directo...

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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 Red?

The style of our red wine is very classic, with a beautiful expression of our terroir of Günzian Gravel which gives unique smoky notes. We pursue elegance and structure, freshness and complexity, balance and richness.
Our majority of Cabernet Sauvignon, harvested at full maturity and softly vinified to extract only the s...

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Vintage 2015

Complete 2015 Bordeaux report by Andrew Caillard MW “Next in line of a great series of vintages; 2000, 2005, 2009, 2010 & 2015.”

 

2015 is a wonderful Bordeaux vintage without the hype or hysteria associated with 2009 and 2010. The wines are generally expressive and generous with marvellous concentration and structure. Give another year in barrel, the wines should gain more fruit complexity and volume. The Châteaux, across all sub-region...

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Tasting note

color

Medium

flavors

Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Raspberry, Cherry and Cassis

nose

Intense and Ripe

taste

Average in Acidity, Balanced, Rich, Silky, Fragrant and Silky tannins

Written Notes

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2015 is a very dark red wine, almost black. The nose expresses a bouquet of black fruits and very freshred fruits. Through swirling, the nose appears more complex with notes of spices, cedar, liquorice associated with notes of violet and a touch of flint stone.

The mouth is straightforward, dynamic, powerful, dense, classy. Tannins are concentrated, unctuous and silky. They give the wine great length and beautiful texture. We find again in mouth the crunchy and ripe fruits and an additional spicier dimension with liquorice, citron, clove and a wonderful finale of floral and mineral notes.

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Deep dark ruby red colour. Intense, rich, jammy black fruit nose with lovely toasty spiciness. Full-bodied, silky texture with vivid acidity, harmonious polished tannins, and ripe juicy fruitiness. Very elegant and long finish with charming vibrancy. Peaking in 2030-2035. If enjoyed today, decant for 3 hours and serve at 17-18°C. Perfect match with game birds, grilled beef and venison. JL 97p (12/2020)

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  • 97p

The currants and blackberries on the nose are very impressive with wet-earth and lavender undertones. Full body and super-integrated tannins that melt into the wine. The quality of the tannins is incredible with fantastic length and mouthfeel. So much concentration and balance at the same time. Such beauty. From biodynamic grapes. This is the greatest wine ever from here. Drink in 2022.

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  • 99p

63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot.
Deep crimson. Rich and opulent on the nose but without the drive of the 2016. Polished, sweet tannins and some of the freshness of Graves but fairly sweet and rich overall, and with a hint of alcohol on the end.
 

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  • 90p

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!

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  • 97p
Dark purple red with violet hue and almost black core. Aromatic nose with dark berries, dark chocolate, roasting aroma, mild spices. On the palate well structured and balanced, elegant oak spices, fine toasted aroma, opulent yet elegant body and multi-layered finish, excellent length.
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  • 95p
Deep colour. Fresh dark chocolate, dark cherry, with hint of musky Turkish Delight notes. Generous and supple with lovely rich dark cherry, blackcurrant pastille fruit, mocha oak and chocolaty tannins. Finishes chalky, long and juicy. Lovely richness, depth and length. Powerful yet graceful wine. Impressive wine. 97 points
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  • 97p
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Information

Origin

Martillac, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Other wines from this producer

Château Cantelys

Château Cantelys blanc

Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc

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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