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Wine Description
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 silkiest tannins, unveils after proper aging its full potential for years long.
The other grapes variety of our vineyard, the Merlot, the Cabernet Franc and the Petit Verdot add to the Cabernet Sauvignon their own aromas and participate in the typical harmony of our Cru Classé de Graves.
Which vintage of your Château red wine do you prefer?
Such as the whites, it is very difficult to pick a vintage among others, as every occasion and every meal will enlighten a specific vintage.
In my opinion, our 2000 red is a wine I would not doubt in comparing with the greatest reds from both banks. It has everything, except maybe some more years…
Another vintage we particularly cherish is the 2003, because despite the heatwave that affected the region, our early terroir allows us to harvest grapes at perfect maturity before they “cook” over the sun. Therefore we have a charming wine, whose freshness of aromas trouble the tasters at every blind tasting.
However I must say that we reached the zenith of our great reds with two legendary vintages: 2009 and 2010, though these two vintages have very little in common! 2009, my favorite, is powerful, charming, round and very “charismatic”… 2010, my husband’s favorite, is a beautiful classic, that expresses perfectly our Gravel terroir, with notes of black fruits, mineral finish and incredible Caudalies (the unit that measures length of wine flavors in mouth).
Vintage 1988
Le premier d’un trio de grands millésimes et qui a été plutôt éclipsé par les années 89 et 90.Certainement le plus « classique » du trio, avec beaucoup de vins qui ne sont pas ouvertement axés sur les fruits, mais qui ont des niveaux d’extrait et de concentration qui en font des candidats parfaits pour une garde prolongée.
La première moitié de l’année a été exceptionnellement froide et humide et le millésime a été sauvé par un été long, sec et chaud. La récolte a commencé à la mi-septembre et certains cabernets n’ont pas été cueillis avant la 3ème semaine d’octobre. La plupart des vins approchent maintenant de leur plateau de maturité, le choix de la grappe étant le Médocs et les Graves dominés par le cabernet. Pauillac a été particulièrement réussi.
