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 | 2019 Les Hauts de Smith - Pessac Léognan | € 29,25 (€ 35,39) |
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IN DE PERS 91 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Februari 2022) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc made a big impression from barrel. In bottle, it shows wonderful concentration on the nose of Nashi pear, fresh melon and melted candle wax. The palate is beautifully balanced and tensile, with plenty of salinity on the finish. This seems to grow in the glass, so don’t be afraid to give it a short decant. Drink 2022-2034. 91-93 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Juni 2020) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc has a little more amplitude on the nose than I expected, quite intense scents of red apple, pear, melon and light waxy aromas, as if there had been a touch of Sémillon in the blend. The palate is well balanced with fresh acidity, crisp and focused with a tangy salinity that gets the saliva flowing on the finish. Superb. Drink 2022-2034. 92 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Februari 2022) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc is incredibly polished and sophisticated, just as it was en primeur. Bright citrus, floral and orchard fruit notes are all very nicely delineated. This classy 100% Sauvignon Blanc is an absolute joy to taste. Drink 2022-2029. 90-92 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Juni 2020) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc, 100% Sauvignon Blanc, is a wine of real sophistication and class. Floral overtones, orchard fruit, chamomile, mint and a kiss of new French oak all grace this exquisite, wonderfully expansive Sauvignon Blanc. 90 William Kelley - robertparker.com (April 2022) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc offers up aromas of lemongrass, herbs, citrus zest and light reduction, followed by a medium to full-bodied, bright and vibrant palate that's taut and racy, reflecting its 100% Sauvignon Blanc identity. Drink 2021-2029. Certified organic with the 2019 vintage, this year marks a waypoint—rather than a stopping point—in Smith Haut Lafitte's agronomic journey. The Cathiard family banished herbicides at this address in 1991, radically reducing chemical treatments and suffering the consequences for several years in the form of much diminished yields (today, happily, materiel and techniques are more sophisticated). In addition to organic methods, cover crops have been deployed on the vineyard's central blocks and western band, where soils are less well drained. Hedges have been planted to encourage biodiversity, and ultraviolet treatments are being trialed as an alternative to copper sulfate. In addition to such initiatives, the technical team is adapting to a warmer climate: that means picking a touch earlier, certainly, but more importantly, adapting in the vineyards, with somewhat lower canopies and an end to deleafing to retain fresh, vibrant flavors. Winemaking, too, is a little gentler: cool but protracted macerations, with periodic punch-downs, for reds and whole-cluster pressing with an inerted press for whites. This has brought new structural elegance and energy to the estate's wines. It surely helps that as much as possible is done in-house: since 1995, the Cathiards have their own nursery for their own massale selections, in partnership with Bérillon, and barrels are made in the château's own on-site cooperage too, favoring the forests of Tronçais and Jupilles for reds, Loches (which brings tension) for whites. All this is symptomatic of the attention to detail and seriousness that the Cathiards, and their technical director Fabien Teitgen, have brought to this estate; and the result, in 2019, is one of the finest wines they've produced to date. 90-92 Lisa Perrotti-Brown – robertparker.com (Juni 2020) The 2019 Les Hauts de Smith Blanc begins a little closed on the nose, soon unfurling to reveal fragrant scents of lime blossoms, lemongrass and shaved ginger with a core of yuzu, fresh apple slices and kumquat plus a waft of dill seed. Medium-bodied, the palate is packed with zip and zing, offering a racy acid backbone and a seriously minerally finish. “It is difficult in Bordeaux to have both high acidity and good ripeness,” began Château Smith Haut Lafitte’s technical director, Fabien Teitgen. “But this year you have both. Cool nights preserved the acidity nicely. Overall, 2019 was cooler than in 2018. We have the impression that 2019 was hot, but it was generally cooler. The wines are fresher and brighter. 2018 is powerful, but 2019 has intensity.” As an organic grower, Smith Haut Lafitte was one of the châteaux that got hit hard in 2018 with the mildew. “In 2018, we lost half the crop,” Teitgen confessed. “In 2019, we had no problems, in fact. The yields were normal for us.” “We have the opposition of two weather systems during the growing season,” he went on to say. “The first part—June / July—was warm and dry. Our young vines had a bit of water stress at the end of July. Then in August and September, we had cooler temperatures. At the beginning of August, I had a map of the vineyard showing the depth of the roots. It was clear that the old vines with deep roots did much better.” Technically speaking, Tietgen noted that the acids were a bit higher in 2019. “The quantity of tannins is very similar to 2018,” he said. “But the texture is different. We had a strong synthesis of tannins, small berries—no need to extract too much, just wait with the infusion.” Smith Haut Lafitte’s 2019 red may not have quite the same “wow” factor as the 2018, but I suspect that because of its increased freshness and slightly brighter style, there are many consumers who will actually prefer the 2019. The 2019 SHL Blanc is another story though—wow-o-WOW that is good! Smith Haut LafitteDe wijngaard van Smith Haut Lafitte is 67 hectare groot. Smith is in essentie een heuvel bedekt met “Graves Günziennes” met als twee voornaamste eigenschappen: een natuurlijke drainage van de bodem en een “effet miroir” voor de zon die reflecteert op de graves. Daar begint alles mee; de rest, te weten de moderne werkwijze, de satellieten en de Vistalys, of de compromisloze toewijding voor het behalen voor superieure kwaliteit zijn legendarisch! Hun tweede wijnen, Les Hauts de Smith en Le Petit Haut Lafitte, biedt schitterende kwaliteit aan een bijzonder redelijke prijs zowel in wit als rood. De beste wijnjaren zijn 2000, 2005, 2010 en natuurlijk 2009, bekroond met een perfecte 100 parkerscore. Een weetje: Smith Haut Lafitte is één van de weinige Châteaux voorzien van een eigen tonnellerie. De andere zijn Haut Brion, Margaux en Lafite. CathiardSmith Haut Lafitte was een halve ruïne in 1990 toen de Daniël en Florence Cathiard het zagen vanuit een helikopter... Ze namen de zaken aan zoals altijd: met gehele toewijding en liefde. Als voormalig lid van het Frans Olympisch skiteam en tevens supermarktmagnaat vond Daniël Cathiard zijn evenknie in zijn dynamische en evenzeer charmante echtgenote Florence. Hun dochters en schoonzonen zijn even bedrijvig: het cosmeticamerk Caudalie en het Hotel & Spa Les Sources de Caudalie, met de restaurants van Smith Haut Lafitte (waarvan één met twee Michelinsterren), zijn in hun beheer. Niemand lijkt deze dynamische familie te kunnen bijbenen... |