Wine Advisor
Le Petit Haut Lafitte 2017
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte delivers a slightly broody nose of tar, new leather and truffles over an emerging core of warm plums, mulberries and boysenberries with a touch of anise. Medium-bodied, the palate offers loads of black cherries and savory hints with a plush frame and earthy finish.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
There was less than 15% of loss from the frost here. A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte sings of crushed black currants, fresh blackberries and black raspberries with touches of bay leaves, pencil shavings and mossy bark. Medium-bodied, the palate has refreshing red and black fruits with a lovely line of freshness and soft, supple tannins, finishing earthy.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte is another gorgeous wine in this range. Cabernet Sauvignon flavors are really popping today in a wine that is rich, deep and super-expressive. Iron, sweet red cherry, mint, dried flowers and white pepper all run through this gorgeous second wine from Smith Haut Lafitte. The 2017 could use a few years in bottle to fully come together, as the tannins are pretty fierce today. Quite frankly the Le Petit Haut Lafitte could challenge many grand vins in 2017.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte is a gorgeous second wine. This Cabernet Sauvignon-based red bristles with Cabernet energy, tension and structure. Grilled herbs. licorice, new leather and blueberry jam are vivid in the glass, but it is the wine's vertical structure that stands out most. The 2017 finishes with notable character and personality. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2017 Le Petit Haut Lafitte is aged in 20% new oak. It has a fresh, slightly minty bouquet with tightly wound blackberry and raspberry notes, a touch of iris rather than violet. The palate is medium-bodied with a light grip on the entry. Blackberry infused with graphite runs from start to finish of this quite linear and “correct” Pessac-Léognan, leading to a chalky-textured, Pauillac-inspired finish that is actually more closed in the later tasting I conducted during my three weeks in Bordeaux. This will need two or three years in bottle but it has the substance to give a decade of drinking pleasure.
About the Producer
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is located in the village of Martillac in the Pessac-Leognan production area south of Bordeaux, France. As early as 1365, the famous Bosq family had been planting grapes here. This gravelly land was called "Lafitte", which means "higher hill".Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is located in Pessac-Leognan, a boutique production area in Graves with excellent terroir conditions. The winery's vineyards cover a total area of 78 hectares. The soil in the garden is mainly gravel soil, and is also mixed with sand, silica soil, limestone and clay. This soil has good drainage and the poor soil allows the grapevines to take root downwards for harvest. moisture and nutrients; in addition, gravel can reflect sunlight and store heat, which can help grapes ripen better. In 1990, Daniel Cathiard, a former French national team skier, became the owner of the winery, combining modern advanced technology with traditional winemaking methods. Since 1992, the winery has stopped using chemical herbicides and has adopted biodynamic methods to grow grapes. As the second wine of Smith Haut Lafitte, Le Petit Haut Lafitte’s brilliance is not overshadowed by the full score of the flagship wine. The grapes and brewing techniques used in the flagship wine are exactly the same, but due to the different brewing proportions, the style is more solid and rich than the flagship wine.
