Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2020

Highly complex, dark-fruited, cassis, blackberries, with fascinating minerality. On the palate, sensationally dense yet fresh—a monument with spice and crisp fruit, and tannins of the highest quality. A grand wine from A to Z, majestic, built for a small eternity.

Exotic and lush in feel, with well-steeped plum, boysenberry and blackberry fruit flavors rolling through, scored with hints of espresso crema, dark tobacco and black licorice along the way. Very polished in feel, but with a late flicker of savory and a subtle tug of earth to keep this honest in the end. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2026 through 2037. 10,000 cases made, 2,400 cases imported.

Vivid dark purple in the glass, yet with remarkable clarity. Fragrant black cherries, plums, cassis and perfumed aromas with blueberries, balsamic touches and white pepper. Rich, round, grippy and captivating, slightly plush but also tight, with a soft chalky, wet-stone grip and lively acidity balanced by strict, spice-tinged, liquorice-touched fruit. You feel the leanness here, but it’s so well defined with clarity and precision. A sleeping giant right now, not yet fully expressing itself, but it slowly grows into a long finish. There’s something utterly seductive about this wine: overt, forward, upfront, confident and powerful, no doubt. This will need some time before it should be opened, but it’s a shining thoroughbred. Refined and purposeful. There’s a bit of magic in this bottle.

Extremely fresh and deep on the nose with raspberry and blackcurrant character, as well as stone, fresh green tobacco and ink. Full-bodied with a dense core on the palate and gorgeous fine yet steely tannins. It calms down at the end with berries, citrus and some lavender. Salty on the finish. Very mineral. Flinty. From organically grown grapes. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. Give it four or five years to come around.

The impressive dark hue sets the stage for an equally dark-fruited profile on the nose and palate. The wine is all about richness, intensity, length, and palate presence, yet it remains perfectly balanced, with layers of blackberries, smoke, espresso, black cherries, licorice, smoke, and chocolate. What truly stands out here is the purity of the fruit, the lift, balance, and freshness on the palate, and of course, the length, which goes on for over 50 seconds! The finish blends power with polished elegance, creamy tannins, and a showy display of sweet black cherries, plums, chocolate, and spice. As I noted in my barrel tasting, in some years it felt like you were tasting a wine made in the cellar. That is no longer the case at Smith Haut Lafitte; now you can clearly taste a wine born in the vineyard. Drink from 2025–2055.

Deep dark ruby with purple reflections, a dark core, and subtly lighter at the rim. Fine herbal savouriness, ripe plum, black cherry, some oak. Medium body, sweet cherry, vivid tannins, mineral, fresh, and with ripe fruit nuances on the finish. The wine shows winning harmony, balance and definite ageing potential.

Great purity and intensity with inky dark fruit – blackberry, cassis and floral notes with fine oak integration, just a hint of toast. Ample and concentrated palate with fine nuance and layers, powerful yet elegant with tremendous length and complexity; this will be something really great!

Absolutely pure gold and reminding me of the 2009 (or is it the 2010?), the 2020 Château Smith Haut Lafitte sports a dense purple hue to go with incredible aromatics of blackberries, blueberries, scorched earth, wood smoke, and acacia flowers. One of the most concentrated, rich, and sexy wines in the vintage, this massive and extraordinarily opulent 2020 shows the vintage's pure, elegant profile yet backs it up with sensational levels of fruit and texture. Based on 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, it already offers pleasure given its wealth of fruit, but it deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and will evolve for 40-50 years. Not enough can be said about the quality of these wines. Bravo to Florence and Daniel Cathiard, as well as to director Fabien Teitgen, for another incredible achievement.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: dense, velvety, powerful, finely opulent bouquet, cherries, cassis, mocha, chocolate yogurt. Creamy, sweet, full palate with plenty of fine tannins, dense structure, varied, sweet aromatics, fresh fruit, long, full finish.

Dense, velvety, powerful, finely opulent bouquet with cherries, cassis, mocha, chocolate yogurt. Creamy, sweet, full palate with plenty of fine tannins, dense structure, diverse, sweet aromatics, fresh fruit, long, full finish. 18/20 2026 - 2040

Inky colour, charcoal, slate, cocoa bean, blueberry, espresso, grilled sandalwood, espresso, all delivered slowly but surely with punch and power. Palate-hugging confident tannins, this is a brilliant wine that edges slowly through the palate, gathering layers and complexity as it goes. 60% new oak. Harvest September 9 to 30, technical director Fabien Teitgen. 60% new oak. Harvest started on September 9 to 30. As I said En Primeur; this is a masterclass in restrained Pessac glamour.

The 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with powerful scents of crème de cassis, wild blueberries, and redcurrant preserves, followed by hints of cedar chest, charcuterie, cast-iron pan, and black truffles, with a touch of menthol. The full-bodied palate is densely layered with black fruits, offset by mineral and red-berry accents, supported by firm, grainy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long and earthy.

A dark, serious, intriguing, striking nose with notes of black fruits, flower pollen, musk and sandalwood. Pure and chiselled, the palate is extraordinarily beautiful, with very fine black fruits, a hypnotic vein of freshness and a superb spicy tingle (Sichuan pepper). The finish feels endless.

Lovely powdered, aromatic, complex nose that offers power, finesse, delicacy, and depth. The wine benefits from decanting. We find notes of violet, bright blackcurrant, morello cherry, and, more subtly, wild blueberry, combined with hints of small red fruits, touches of fresh blond tobacco, Cubeb pepper, as well as a discreet hint of cardamom, spices, and an almost charcoal-like note. The palate is mineral and fruity, offering indulgence, a lovely silkiness, depth, and a coating richness. Beautiful silky richness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy blackberry, crushed wild black fruits, camphor, Bourbon vanilla, and subtle hints of toasted hazelnut. The tannins are supple, elegant, and flavorful. Good length. A discreet touch of pleasant bitterness, plenty of appetence, suppleness, and subtlety.

“We used to taste grapes that brought real pleasure; it was the same during vinification. Today in Bordeaux, only one vintage out of five is oceanic, and we no longer remove leaves in order to protect the bunches from the sun,” says Fabien Teitgen, managing director. Indeed, even now, the bouquet is enchanting, unfurling peony, blackberry, blackcurrant, graphite, licorice. The generous, expansive substance, mineral to the core, almost chalky, with tight, slender tannins, carries the wine far on the finish. Of course, this is a bottle of undeniable power—one could also call it racy—yet it shows sovereign balance and tremendous potential.

Smith Haut Lafitte 2020 reveals itself step by step on the nose. It is on the palate that it truly shines through its power. The tannins are certainly tight, but they have substance and align with the temperament of the acidic structure. For now, the wine shows breadth and muscle… As for finesse, patience will be required, but given the material at hand, there is little cause for concern, as it already unveils its complexity and depth. A great success that will reward waiting.

96–98. Barrel Sample. This is a very fine wine, packed with tannins that are rich and suspended in the wine with its smoky edge and ripe blackberry fruits. The wine is direct in its fine, fragrant freshness and in its texture that gives power and concentration. Obviously for long-term aging.