Winemaker Notes
Château Smith Haut Lafitte Red 2012 offers a beautiful dark bright red color with blue hue. The already expressive nose reveals very fresh notes of red fruits (strawberry, cherry) with a hint of smoke. Once aerated, the nose complexity appears with delicate notes of spices (star anise, licorice, cinnamon), of red fruits as well as beautiful and elegant flower notes. Then the nose stretches outwith terroir aromas of flint stone and fireplace. The attack in mouth is fresh and balanced with a fleshy and unctuous texture. Thewine is a subtle balance between maturity and freshness: the maturity from the concentration, the impressive unctuosity and sugarity and the beautiful structure of long and classy tannins; the freshness from the tension, the dynamism and the aroma sparkle. The whole defines very well this wine, already reachable, fresh,harmonious and very elegant. This long mouth gives way to a fresh very bordelaise finale, a red fruit explosion. The aromatic is very close to that of the nose, characterized by the freshness with crunchy red fruits, spices notes of licorice, dry herbs and empyreumatic notes of fireplace and flint stone.
Blend: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot
Critical Acclaim
95 James Suckling
Aromas of cream, cooked apples and pears follow through to a full body with toasted-oak, cream and vanilla character buttressed by plenty of fruit. So much peach and apricot character. This a bright and flamboyant wine for the vintage. One of the best dry whites. Drink or hold.
95 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
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.
94 Wine Enthusiast
This dark and dense wine is closed, with its tannins very dominant. It’s a solid, dark wine intense with juicy acidity, firm dry structure and a rich core. This is a magnificent wine for serious aging, with all the elements coming strongly into play. Drink from 2022. Cellar Selection.
