x
  • Country ranking ?

    635
  • Producer ranking ?

    24
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Salads

Food Pairing

Salads

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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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Vintage 2020

In Bordeaux, the heat led to early flowering. Additionally, this led to an early harvest after a very hot summer. As a starting point, there is great maturity in the grapes, and we can expect a more opulent vintage than in recent years.

This year's summer was the hottest since 1959, but the rain fell at just the right time during the growing season. The harvest took place two weeks before the norm and will produce grapes with high alcohol p...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

The 2020 vintage in Bordeaux produced some of the most impressive dry whites of the decade. A warm and early season encouraged full, even ripening, while cooler nights and timely summer rainfall preserved exceptional acidity and aromatic precision. For Smith Haut Lafitte, whose biodynamic vineyards emphasize vitality and mineral expression, 2020 yielded a white wine of remarkable purity, depth, and tension.


The Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 2020 opens with a brilliantly pure and expressive nose. Aromas of white peach, citrus blossom, grapefruit zest, and ripe pear emerge immediately, followed by notes of crushed herbs, jasmine, flint, and a gentle saline breeze. Subtle hints of almond cream, beeswax, and lightly toasted spice speak to sophisticated élevage that enhances rather than dominates the wine’s natural clarity.

On the palate, the wine is vibrant, layered, and impeccably balanced. A core of vivid citrus and stone fruit is wrapped in a refined, silky texture supported by energetic acidity that brings lift and definition. The wine’s mineral presence is striking, delivering a precise, chalk-driven backbone that gives the palate impressive length and shape. Sémillon adds quiet richness and depth, while Sauvignon Gris contributes floral lift and a touch of exotic spice.

The finish is long, elegant, and beautifully clean, leaving impressions of citrus oil, white flowers, and cool stone. This is a superb Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, combining concentration with finesse and reflecting the strength of the 2020 vintage. It will evolve gracefully for 12 to 20 years, gaining layers of honey, toasted hazelnut, and lanolin while keeping its poised structure.


  • 97p

Château Smith Haut Lafitte White 2020 - The Cathiards' 30th vintage.
My saviour wine. Just when a bitter taste post-antibiotic for double pneumonia seemed to blight my impressions of all wines, this was the first wine that seemed free of it and gave me hope that my palate would be restored. I first tasted it on 22 Feb (last dose of antibiotic was 12 Feb) and kept retasting over subsequent days to check that I wasn’t kidding myself (high-acid whites generally seemed worse affected than full-bodied reds). Smoky-oaky nose and lots of fruit impact on the palate with masses of refreshing acidity too. Flatteringly satin texture with real pungency and interest on the end. Great balance. Just the right side of the oiliness that can dog some white wines from this appellation.
 

  • 91p

90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris.
Richer and more spicy on the nose than Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte 2021. The oak showing in a mealy creaminess. Deep and complex in both texture and sour-citrus leesy flavour. Intense and so fresh. Great length, chewy finish.

  • 91p

The wine is pale yellow. The nose is already very expressive with notes of yellow fruits (peach, apricot), white flowers (acacias, orange blossom), and a beautiful elegance of citrus fruits. The aromatic on the palate is similar to the one on the nose with yellow fruits, floral notes, and we perceive a greater complexity with more mineral, spicy notes while flint stones give the signature of our great terroir.

2020  Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc Pessac-Léognan With the pop of grapefruit, white peach, lemon peel, flowers, orange rind and honeysuckle in the nose, and a creamy, sweet, fresh, juicy, slightly honeyed, lush, white peach and citrus finish, you have all the ingredients needed for a luscious, white Bordeaux wine. The wine was produced from a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Semillon. 97  Pts

  • 97p

Bright yellow colour with green hue. Expressive and multi-layered nose, ripe peaches and apricots, fresh  grapefruit and grapefruit zest, discreet flowery touches in the background. subtle oak with hints of vanilla, fine toasting aroma  and mild spices. On the palate expressive flavour, crisp acidity and savoury character, multi-layered fruit with grapefruit zest, tropical fruit and hints of Buxus, aromatic herbs, rich with excellent length and depth, a textbook Smith Haut-Lafitte 

  • 97p
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Information

Origin

Martillac, Bordeaux

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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