Wine Advisor
Smith Haut Lafitte 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A brilliant success again, this blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot is a medium-bodied, impressively concentrated wine with copious quantities of red and black fruits. Licorice, roasted herbs and a touch of background oak are present in this slightly precocious wine, which should be accessible when released. It has the depth to evolve for 20 or more years. Talk about a severe selection – only 41% made it into the grand vin!
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from a barrel sample at en primeur. The 2012 is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot that is being raised in 60% new barrels. It has a intense bouquet, very lifted with the Merlot lending it a very floral aspect. Touches of creme de cassis develop with time. The palate is very well balanced with a smooth texture although you can feel the tannins exert their influence on the structured, much more Left Bank style finish that leaves a tertiary/tobacco aftertaste. This might be a long-term SHL. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The opaque bluish-purple 2012 Smith Haut Lafite offers up notes of licorice, graphite, blueberry and blackberry fruit, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, stunningly ripe, velvety tannins and a long, long finish. This is another sensational effort from the Cathiards that is perfectly balanced, complex, super-rich and pure. Drink it over the next 20-25 years.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
A dark, sensual wine, the 2012 Smith Haut Lafitte boasts marvelous depth and textural richness. Dark red stone fruits, leather, smoke, tobacco, gravel and herbs are laced together in an expansive wine endowed with terrific purity. The tannins are going to need at least a few years to soften, but there is clearly quite a bit to look forward to.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(55% cabernet sauvignon, 40% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot; 60% new oak): Purple-ruby. Enticing aromas of blackcurrant, tobacco, violet and herbs. Creamy-sweet and rather powerful on entry, then brighter in the mid-palate, with lively acidity energizing dark fruit, floral and tobacco flavors. This is densely packed for a 2012, but also has a degree of finesse I haven't found in some past, bigger vintages of this wine. Finishes with building, smooth tannins and terrific persistence. A very strong vintage for this wine; this is yet another example of an estate that lowered the proportion of cabernet sauvignon in its 2012 blend (normally it's 60% to 65%).
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2012 Smith Haut Lafitte has an intense, well-defined and quite complex bouquet with blackberry, briary and cigar humidor scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fine acidity, cohesive and poised with quite a firm grip towards the finish. This is another classy Pessac-Léognan and a wonderful example from Pessac-Léognan that might well be leading the pack at this stage. Bon vin. Tasted twice at Bordeaux Index's Ten Year-On tasting and blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.
About the Producer
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is located in the village of Martillac in the Pessac-Leognan appellation, south of Bordeaux, France, and is a Grand Cru of the Graves appellation. The Château Smith Haut Lafitte complex is quite large, with a château, winery and large underground cellars, as well as a sizeable resort hotel (Les Sources de Caudalie), the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa, the Caudalie restaurant, and the gardens, water and wine garden. The courtyard also features gardens, flowing water and a number of artistic sculptures, including a sculpture by Barry Flanagan called "The Flying Rabbit", as well as wonderful works by Chinese sculptor Huang Yongping and Italian artist Mimmo Paladino, among others. The Smith Haut Lafitte winery Smithers Lafitte has 78 hectares of vineyards planted with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, while the white varieties include 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Petit Verdot. Sauvignon Blanc, 5% of Sauvignon Gris and 5% of Semillon. The average age of the red vines is 38 years and the average age of the white vines is 40 years. The wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks or in large oak barrels, depending on the variety and the plot. After fermentation, the red wines are aged for 18 months in 60% new barrels and the white wines for 12 months in 50% new barrels. The wines are not filtered before bottling and have a unique, slightly smoky aroma that fully reflects the true nature of the Graves origin. The winery is currently being upgraded and will be 100% gravity-fed when the renovation is complete. The grapes are harvested at perfect ripeness, gently broken and fermented to extract the smoothest and softest tannins and flavours, and the wine is then aged for several years to reveal its qualities: crisp and complex aromas, balanced and full-bodied, elegant and firm on the palate. Currently, Château Smith Lafitte produces six wines: one red and one white, one red and one white, two secondary wines called Le Petit Haut Lafitte, and one red and one white, two tertiary wines called "Les Hauts de Smith". Château Smith Lafitte has stabilised in recent years, receiving high ratings from critics and the press in several vintages, and has been well received by the market. The top vintages of the winery into the 20th century are 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
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