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| | Vintage | 2014 |  Label 1 of 369 
 | | Type | Red | | Producer | Château Smith Haut Lafitte (web) | | Variety | Red Bordeaux Blend | | Designation | n/a | | Vineyard | n/a | | Country | France | | Region | Bordeaux | | SubRegion | Graves | | Appellation | Pessac-Léognan | | UPC Code(s) | 000002696263, 031259043623, 087000336742, 1700180035760, 3364420076807, 3388118590901, 3438081112010, 3438081114014, 3438081116018, 3438082114013, 3448821605436, 3453523411056, 3609050641309, 3700188035760, 3760127800118, 400004314453, 607921027651, 649185011212 |
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.4 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 102 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by matlee89 on 4/20/2024 & rated 90 points: Reflective of the vintage. A little thinner and less muscular compared to their better vintages. But still well made, balanced, with good acidity and precision. (657 views) | | | Tasted by dchain on 4/20/2024 & rated 93 points: At CdB HK dinner. Paired with the Dom de Chevalier, this was hands down the winner. Creamier cherry fruit notes, more glossy and fruit seems riper and fuller, Some St. Julien notes of soil and leaves which is very interesting and complimentary to the dark cherry and blackberry fruit at present. Lovely mouth feel. Yes young and vigorous but all in balance. Cashmere tannins and lovely medium plus body and finish. Delicious now and exciting future ahead. Very respectable QPR. (813 views) | | | Tasted by burlingtonm on 3/22/2024 & rated 93 points: This has improved significantly in the three years since the previous bottle
and while there are still some tannins to resolve, this has black fruits, good density and some refinement and should continue to improve. (1267 views) | | | Tasted by HWG99 on 3/3/2024 & rated 93 points: 62% cab sau, 30% merlot, 6% cab fr and 2% PV. Still a very closed wine. Intense aroma with a lot of fruits and black berries. Full body wine on the palate, cigar, dry. Long plummy finishing. One to jeep for another 10yrs at least. (1577 views) | | | Tasted by happyhyrax on 1/25/2024 & rated 92 points: Something odd on the nose - like the smell of an empty freezer. This disappeared quite quickly with air - I suspect it was the enomatic machine? Dense, rich nose with dark fruit and oak. Lovely on the palate. Tannins well integrated already. Medium full body. Medium finish. I would say this is at the start of its drinking window and supports my contention that 2014 left banks are really really worth buying. (2045 views) | | | Tasted by Elvis1969 on 12/8/2023 & rated 93 points: Restaurang i Megève. (2422 views) | | | Tasted by nnektarios on 12/3/2023 & rated 91 points: Intense aromas of blackberries, plum in the beginning but after 1 hour only floral notes remained. Oak is present. Medium to full bodied. Alcohol is obvious. Spicy and concentrated. Medium finish. (2310 views) | | | Tasted by KVM on 8/24/2023: Tasted blind: Very dark and young looking. Blackberry with oak perfume. Tannic buffered with big fruit withbvery good ripeness but a little jagged on the finish. Mainly primary. Good future over next 5 to 10 yrs. (3521 views) | | | Tasted by Psdycp on 8/5/2023 & rated 91 points: Aromatic bouquet with vanilla oak, smoked clove and fennel, ripe blackberries and hints of leather. Soft and polished palate. Medium-bodied mid-palate. Wishing for a touch more depth and power. Finish is smooth and clean. Drink with an hour of decanting. (3189 views) | | | Tasted by kfrench150 on 7/20/2023 & rated 91 points: Brief decant. Deep mulberry colour. Fairly thin at the rim. Smokey blackberries on the nose. Secondary aromas of black currant, camphor, pencil lead, cured tobacco and plum. Less smokey and more red fruits emerge on the nose over time. Medium bodied, slightly thin on the mid-palate, very smooth, dry, chalky tannins and a puckery finish. Flavours of blackberries, plums, black currants, minerals, graphite and charcoal. Later on some dried red fruits and leather notes surface. Then its tarts to fade a little and dry out on the back palate with more time. A nice example of an SHL from an average year. No disrespect intended at all; that is actually a compliment! A lovely food wine! (2968 views) | | | Tasted by #alexindahouse on 3/31/2023 & rated 90 points: Maybe flawed - tasted ok to start with good length then closed up and turned bitter , the bitterness is making me think it’s flawed in some way - expected a lot more from this , especially after the 2014 petit haut lafitte put in a great performance last weekend. (3876 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 2/21/2023 & rated 95 points: This is drinking beautify now. (4395 views) | | | Tasted by Gdubya on 12/25/2022 & rated 92 points: Over Xmas day. Elegant wine, perhaps a touch simple. Seemed quite approachable; tannins present but not intrusive. I think CT has this one about bang on with 92-93+ pts (3653 views) | | | Tasted by kostaslonis on 11/7/2022: Trinity Wines tasting (Stavros Niarchos): Exotic, spicy, earthy, nice oak frame, floral notes, ethereal, palate very juicy, smoky/spicy, earthy, nice oak frame, juicy tannins, med body (1698 views) | | | Tasted by camroc830 on 11/6/2022 & rated 93 points: All Smith Haut Lafitte takes an effort to get them to open. Decanted this all day, then aerated it into the glass. Pretty good. Shook the rest of the bottle and put it in the pantry. Kept getting better. Not as good as the wonderful 2016, but better than the 2017. It's a keeper. (4436 views) | | | Tasted by Capman on 10/21/2022 & rated 94 points: Had a chance to taste a vertical at the vineyard Great wines. Need to decant for a bit before drinking Fruity and Bert smooth. Good value for a great wine compared to other Bordeaux wines. Would not and drink again (4588 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 9/25/2022 & rated 90 points: The aromatic profile here is characterful and pleasing enough, showing wood smoke, black fruit, and mineral. But this seems quite hollow on the palate. (5228 views) | | | Tasted by benny on 9/16/2022 & rated 94 points: Drinking well now. More time in the cellar may improve. (3784 views) | | | Tasted by KAT9 on 9/11/2022 & rated 93 points: Very fruit forward. Black cherry, cassis, herbal. A bit oaky. Intense like Insignia. On the palate, high acidity, alc is resolved. Big modern wine. Enjoyable at under $80. (3558 views) | | | Tasted by JGinMO on 9/5/2022 & rated 94 points: Fantastic, and very much entering its window. Plenty of backbone, great fruit, but some really nice secondary flavors all in great balance. (3065 views) | | | Tasted by JP75Wine on 8/28/2022 & rated 91 points: Solid wine. Evolved nicely throughout the evening. Medium bodied and mellow with a commendable finish. Dark red fruits and a hint of herb mingled with classic earth notes. (2936 views) | | | Tasted by Juliansi on 8/19/2022 & rated 89 points: Château Smith Haut Lafitte is a Pessac-Léognan left bank Bordeaux wine, and this was a special evening.. my first ever time trying this!
Black fruit with hints of vanilla on an average nose, the aromas did not seem to permeate.
Blackberries and cassis on the palate with decent fruit feel, but I expected more from this estate. As it evolved some cedar wood and licorice hints came through too. Medium finish was there as well.
Happy Birthday @Joe Yee Wong Thanks for curating this for us bro!
RuMa at ATAS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 19 Aug 2022 (3067 views) | | | Tasted by Hazeo on 8/13/2022 & rated 90 points: A bit flashy and ripe, and I’m saying that as a fan of modern Bordeaux. It’s a nice wine but at this point it feels bit too new world for me. (2843 views) | | | Tasted by MoreWinePlease on 7/30/2022 & rated 94 points: Popped/poured. Very tasty, more like a rich, light-on-its-feet Napa than the Bordeaux I often drank in the 80's/90's. Good from nose to the medium-long finish that was quite satisfying. Likely to get better or hold for 6 to 10yrs. or more. Went well w/gas grilled Filet Mignon and fresh herbed sauteed morels over buttered egg noodles and parmesan/pecorino cheese. In some ways global warming has helped make available many fine, early-accessible wines from Bordeaux. Good value when first acquired. (3027 views) | | | Tasted by John McCabe on 4/20/2022 & rated 93 points: My last of these - one I didn't know I had. Pretty solid, has some of the blue and black fruit and creme-de-cassis I normally associate and enjoy with this producer, but the average vintage showed too - a bit held-back and muted, though the '14 vintage continues to show a bit better with age. Held up quite well on the 3rd day. Not the best vintage for this producer which is increasingly firing on all cylinders. (4203 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Neal Martin
Vinous, Test of Endurance: Bordeaux 2014 Ten Years On (Mar 2024) (3/1/2024)
(Smith Haut Lafitte Smith Haut Lafitte Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Julia Harding, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/8/2024)
(Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Yohan Castaing
Decanter, Château Smith Haut Lafitte: 2008-2018 (6/8/2021)
(Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (11/6/2018)
(Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, November 2018 (11/1/2018)
(Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Bordeaux 2014: The Southwold Tasting (Mar 2018) (3/18/2018)
(Smith Haut Lafitte Smith Haut-lafitte Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/7/2018)
(Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Let the Good Times Roll: 2015 Bordeaux from Bottle (11/30/2017)
(Smith-Haut-Lafitte) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2014 Bordeaux: A September Surprise (Feb 2017) (2/1/2017)
(Smith Haut Lafitte Smith Haut Lafitte) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (1/20/2017)
(Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan, Red, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Hemming, MW
JancisRobinson.com (10/19/2016)
(Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, October 2016 (10/1/2016)
(Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter, Bordeaux En Primeur 2014 (4/12/2015)
(Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2014 Bordeaux: It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over (Apr 2015) (4/1/2015)
(Smith Haut Lafitte Smith Haut Lafitte) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2015 (4/1/2015)
(Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2015 (4/1/2015)
(Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/30/2015)
(Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jane Anson
Decanter
(Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (1/27/2017)
(Château Smith Haut Lafitte) Dark ruby color; red currant, cedar nose; tasty, tight, red currant, cedar, menthol palate; needs 6-plus years; medium-plus finish (62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot) 91+ points 91 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and JancisRobinson.com and Decanter and Winedoctor and JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Smith Haut Lafitte Producer website – Read more about Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte
Producers > Château Smith Haut Lafitte See map
Château Smith-Haut-Lafite has been transformed during the last decade from being a perennial underachiever to being one of the leading estates in the Graves region.
For many years it was owned by the Bordeaux négociant Eschenauer - in 1990 it was bought by former Olympic skiing champion, Daniel Cathiard. He cut down on the amount of chemicals and herbicides used in the vineyards, and fully modernised the winemaking facilities. The proportion of new oak barrels used in the maturation process was increased and a trio of eminent oenologists (including the ubiquitous Michel Rolland) were hired as consultants.
The 55 hectares of vineyards are located on a gravel ridge to the east of Château Haut-Bailly. The red wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (35%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The grapes are fermented in stainless steel vats and the wine is then matured in oak barrels (50% new) for 15-18 months. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
BACKGROUND: The noble Bosq family started growing grapes as early as 1365. The property was purchased in the 18th century by Scotsman George Smith, who gave the estate its present name. He also built the manor house and exported his – by now famous – wine to England on his own ships. In 1842, Mr. Duffour-Dubergier, Mayor of Bordeaux and an enthusiastic winegrower, inherited Château Smith Haut Lafitte from his mother and brought the wine up to great growth status. Impressed by Smith Haut Lafitte's excellent quality, the Louis Eschenauer company distributed the wine all over the world starting in the early 20th century, deciding to buy the estate in 1958. After the Eschenaueur period came to an end, a great deal of money has been invested in the estate, particularly on the construction of a superb underground cellar holding over 1,000 barrels. In 1990, Daniel Cathiard fell in love with the property and joined the list of prestigious owners, firmly intending to further enhance Smith Haut Lafitte's tradition of excellence. He combined the most modern winemaking techniques and age-old methods: organic compost, small wooden vats, ageing on the lees in barrel, etc. Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanGraves Vins de Graves (Conseil des Vins de Graves) - Read more about Pessac Leogan Graves and its winesPessac-Léognan Pessac-Leognan reds:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Soil: Predominantly gravel and sandy rock, with varying proportions of clay and sandstone
Surface Area: 1,491 ha
Pessac-Leognan whites:
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon
Soil: Gravel and rocks covered with sand, sandstone, and clay
Surface Area: 275 ha |
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