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 | 2021 Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte - Pessac Léognan GCC | € 123,20 (€ 149,07) |
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IN DE PERS 95 Yohan Castaing - robertparker.com (Februari 2024) The 2021 Blanc has developed gracefully since en primeur, delivering attractive aromas of ripe pear, peach, lime tree leaves, verbena and mint intertwined with mineral, smoky nuances. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, with a broad attack and fleshy mid-palate, it exhibits compelling purity and tension, concluding with a saline, mint-inflected finish. It has the potential to improve in the cellar over the next decade or more. Drink 2023-2040. Certified organic with the 2019 vintage, 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 systematic deleafing to retain fresh, vibrant flavors. Winemaking, too, is a little gentler: reds see cool but protracted macerations, with periodic punch-downs, and whites are whole-cluster pressed with an inerted press. 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 massal 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 and 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 it has paid off in the challenging 2021 vintage with a superb set of wines at every level. 95 Neal Martin - vinous.com (Februari 2024) The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc has a very nuanced bouquet, yet it just needs a few swirls of the glass to develop those enticing scents of wild peach, orange pith, almond and chamomile. The palate is beautifully balanced with a fine line of acidity and a lightly spiced, persistent finish. There's real weight and elegance here - a contender for the white wine of the vintage. Drink 2026-2050. 94-96 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Mei 2022) The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc was picked September 2–20 and raised in 50% new oak. It needs some time to really cohere in the glass and certainly is not as immediate as the Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte. Eventually, it reveals fresh lime, pineapple, honeysuckle and touches of curry leaf. The taut, fresh palate is well balanced and intense, with a fine bead of acidity. Complex with plenty of salinity, this is a cerebral Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc that will benefit from three or four years in the cellar. Drink 2026-2050. 98 Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (December 2023) The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is the white wine of the vintage, hands down. Creamy and layered, the 2021 offers all the qualities that make whites off this site so compelling, Nothing is out of place. It's aromatic yet deep, fresh yet layered. Utterly mind-bending right out of the gate, this superb white hits all the right notes. Slate, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper linger. Magnifique! Drink 2024-2036. 96-98 Antonio Galloni – vinous.com (Mei 2022) The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is one of the great white wines of the vintage. Soaring in its aromatic intensity and sheer volume, the 2021 saturates every corner of the palate with its unctuousness and richness. Even with all of that volume, the 2021 reamins bright and sculpted. Crushed rocks, lemon confit, orchard fruit, white pepper and mint build into the memorable finish. The 2021 is positively stunning, that’s pretty much all there is to it. Drink 2024-2036. Florence and Daniel Cathiard, along with their team led by Technical Director Fabien Teitgen, presented a stellar set of wines. Yields are down significantly to 20-22 hectoliters per hectare from the more typical 30-35 because of the vagaries of the growing season. 94-96 William Kelley – robertparker.com (April 2022) At this early stage, the 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc appears set to number among the best white wines this estate has produced to date. Wafting from the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, nectarine, grapefruit, pastry cream and smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a concentrated core of fruit, racy acids and a taut, chiseled profile, concluding with a saline finish. Balancing texture and tension to compelling effect, this beautifully integrated, characterful white is going to be thrilling to revisit in bottle. 98-99 James Suckling – jamessuckling.com (Mei 2022) This has so much depth and power, with complex notes of flint, oyster shell, white pepper, dried mango, lemon, papaya, apricot stone and chalk. Medium-to full-bodied. Bright, yet creamy. It’s so long and concentrated. Wait and see. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% semillon, 5% sauvignon gris. From organically grown grapes. 96 Jane Anson – janeanson.com (April 2022) Skilful winemaking on display here, sculpted flavours and textures, a sense of momentum and push-and-pull through the palate. Quince, white pear, mango, nectarine, peach, with savoury white tea, liqourice, mandarin peel and lemongrass, all delivered with pummice stone minerality. This has complexity and poise, and is along the wines of the vintage. Harvest September 2 to 20. 94-96+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown – thewineindependent.com (Mei 2022) The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte blanc is composed of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris, aging in 50% new oak. A little closed to begin, it opens out to reveal notes of fresh pineapple, green mango, and lime cordial with wafts of lemon grass, sea spray, and coriander seed. The palate is medium-bodied with super-intense, tight-knit citrus and tropical fruit layers, framed by a satiny texture and electric backbone, finishing very long and energetic. Drink 2025-2035. 17+/20 James Lawther – jancisrobinson.com (Mei 2022) 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Sémillon. Cask sample. Reductive and a little green on the nose – less opulent than more-mature vintages on the nose but then it’s very broad and mouth-filling with some lanolin notes. Quite complex, combining many different elements. Still unformed. Drink 2024 – 2036. 95-97 Alexandre Ma (Mei 2022) 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... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||