CHATEAU SMITH HAUT LAFITTE 2014

Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2014
Grand Cru Classé de Graves

“Dense and beautifully ripe, this is a rounded rich wine. It focuses on the tropical yellow-fruit spectrum. That gives a full wine with wood-spice hints and just the right amount of citrus acidity to give it a lift. Drink this finely structured wine from 2023. Cellar Selection”  – 97/100, Wine Enthusiast

VARIETIES: 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, age of vines – 48 years old
REGION: Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France
AGEING: 18 months in barrels (60% are new barrels produced in our in-house cooperage), with aging on lees. After being racked a single time, wine is aged according to its profile
GUARDING POTENTIAL: Enjoy now or will cellar well up to 20 years ±, at an optimal hygrometric degree of 70%
SERVE: Serve at 16ºC – 18ºC, decant it at least 4 to 5 hours before tasting
FITS TO: Pairs perfectly Agneau de lait confit grillé, Roasted Duck Breast with Pecan Purée, Pan-Seared Ribeye with Smoky Chimichurri, Wild Boar Ragu with Cheesy Polenta
CRITICS SCORES: WE/97, JS/96, WS/94, D/94, RP/93, JD/93

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Grand Cru Classé de Graves,  Pessac-Léognan Appellation | Range | Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2014

Praise for the balance in life
Everything comes from the soil. At Château Smith Haut Lafitte, we do our utmost to respect nature and biodiversity, both in the vineyard and cellar. Château Smith Haut Lafitte plants vines propagated from our own vineyards thanks to our vine nursery on Ile de Lalande. This island protected ecosystem enables us to maintain the vine’s genetic diversity, as well as the complexity of our wines.

In Graves territory
Surrounded by forests, hedges, and hives, the 87 hectares, one block estate is standing alone as a green island. Covered with Gravels « Graves Gunziennes », the vines are digging at more than 6 meters deep their resources, and the grapes benefit from the stones’ miror effect from the sun for a perfect ripening. The soil gives the wines extraordinary caracteristics. Whites are subtly « smoked », reds are smooth and complex.

2014 was marked by an extraordinary Indian summer that saved the vintage. Fine spring weather was conducive to a good start to the growing season. However, challenging summer conditions seriously slowed down ripening. Fortunately, the month of September was absolutely beautiful, with dry, extremely sunny weather accompanied by highs of close to 30°C. This superb weather, with cool night-time temperatures, enabled the grapes to ripen beautifully, and they were able to be brought into the vat house having reached a perfect level of ripeness.

Whole uncrushed grape berries fermented in small oak vats at 28°C and extraction with manual pigeage (punching down the cap). Aged in barrel on the lees for 18 months (65% of the new barrels were made at the estate’s own cooperage), and only racked once. Duration of ageing adjusted to each wine.