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  • Country ranking ?

    1 276
  • Producer ranking ?

    53
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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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 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).

 

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Vintage 2013

BORDEAUX 2013 VINTAGE REPORT

The 2013 vintage in Bordeaux was one of the most difficult since 1965 and 1968. Thomas Duroux of Château Palmer describes it as “the most complicated vintage in 20 years”. It rained almost continuously in the spring. Flowering was uneven, leading to poor set, millerandage and coulure. The threat of mold was alleviated by the arrival of warm, dry weather during the summer. For a while, winemakers hoped that abundant sunshine and mild weather would allow the vines to catch up. Severe storms, winds and intermittent heavy rains in July and August hampered vine growth and created fruiting difficulties. High humidity and cool temperatures before harvest led to slow ripening and the ideal environment for botrytis (gray rot) infection. Merlot did not perform well on the left bank. Château Margaux was certainly vulnerable to these conditions, but others, in their efforts to talk about the vintage, displayed superb Gallic denial. You would be forgiven for thinking this could be an exceptional vintage; Such is the genius of the world's best professional liars.

 

In years past, weather conditions, uneven ripening and disease pressure would have resulted in disastrous wines. Château Margaux avoided the worst rains by bringing in a picking team of 300 people to harvest the crop at lightning speed. Chateau Lafite also raced against the elements and won. Most castles don't have this type of luxury. The sorting tables were “drilled” during the harvest, allowing the best berries to be selected. I don't remember seeing red wine with visible botrytis characters. The fruit, however, has generally not ripened to optimal levels. Many producers have found it necessary to chaptalize their vinification to allow the wine to reach a more attractive alcohol level. Some châteaux, including Cos d’Estournel at 12.7% alc, produced their wines apparently without adding sugar. Most areas, however, have struggled to reach phenolic maturity. Tannins are the fabric of all red wines. They don't need to be perfectly ripe; An “al-dente” texture can provide convincing freshness and an attractive structure. But it was easy to extract too much in 2013. The best wines were those that were “unpushed” and intuitive to the conditions of the vintage. The use of saignée (juice runoff), reverse osmosis, and other methods to concentrate wine, is never discussed by winemakers, but there were some wines with soupy textures and a silky feel. unnatural mouth.

 

Many 2013 primeur wines have only been in barrel for a few weeks. This creates challenges because oak characters can detract from the inherent quality of young wines. Many châteaux will undoubtedly adjust their oak maturation philosophies to match the character of the vintage. Others will use oak as a cosmetic or construction bog to make up for structural inadequacies in their wine. Acidity is also strongly present in the wines this year. This element is essential for the freshness, tension and lifespan of any vintage. In more mature years, acidity tends to play second fiddle, but in 2013, it's first fiddle. Fruit character, perhaps the most important characteristic of any wine, inevitably varies by subregion and vineyard. The best wines of this vintage have the aromatic quality, persistence and depth of good vintages. Ultimately, the most triumphant red wines are proportional to the commitment and financial resources of the wine producer.

 

Although Merlot struggled in the Médoc, it performed well on the Right Bank. The Pomerol was relatively resplendent with generous fruit and tannin backbones that were riper than elsewhere. St Emilion was also capable of making good wine, but as usual the results were mixed. The reds from Pessac Léognan were muscular and rustic, while the whites were mineral and fresh with strong acidities. Many think that dry whites are excellent. For most Australians, these wines don't really offer value. There were some good Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant red wines made in the Médoc. However, no subregion prevailed. If anything I preferred Pauillac, especially Château Grand Puy Lacoste and Château Batailley.

The humidity which hampered the 2013 harvest in the Médoc and elsewhere worked in favor of the producers of Sauternes and Barsac. There was a “widespread proliferation” of botrytis cinerea (noble rot) during Bordeaux’s wet autumn. The wines range from magnificent to standard in quality. The best ones have beautiful honey, barley water complexity, understated richness and viscosity, and fresh acidity. Château d’Yquem is remarkably good. The biodynamic Château Climens is a beautiful, expressive wine. Every year, I taste it in barrels and in pieces. I can imagine the final blend and it will not disappoint.

 

The 20% drop in Australian dollar to euro exchange rates over the past year will make the 2013 more expensive than the best vintages 2012 and 2011. Unfortunately, this will have a significant impact on market opportunities in Australia . It is unlikely that the castle owners will lower their prices enough to make this campaign worthwhile. Falling demand from China and a full pipeline to other markets will lead to sluggish sales across the world. Although this year's primeur campaign will test the resilience of the traditional Bordeaux wine trade, there is still an impressive level of optimism. I think everyone is looking forward to moving on after the 2013 vintage. On the other hand, it's the type of vintage, with a hint of bottle age, that could re-emerge in a more favorable light in a few years.

by ANDREW CAILLARD MW

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

The 2013 Smith-Haut-Lafitte has a composed and quite refined bouquet, certainly one of the best that I have encountered on the Left Bank, with wild strawberry mixed with cedar and a touch of graphite. The palate is smooth on the entry, the oak nicely integrated, almost Pinot-like in texture with a prickle of spice on the finish. Recommended for the vintage, this constitutes a very respectable Pessac-Léognan from the Cathiard family in what was a difficult vintage.

  • 90p
Ruby. Red berries, plums touch and vanilla nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, fruity, leaner, rounded structure, touch herbal, long. 89-91
  • 90p
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Information

Origin

Martillac, Bordeaux

Other wines from this producer

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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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