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Brimming with enticing notes of roasted coffee, smoke and dark, spicy fruits, this medium- to full-bodied wine is smooth and plush. With wonderful concentration and balance, the finish just goes on and on... Drink 2012 - 2025+.
Brimming with enticing notes of roasted coffee, smoke and dark, spicy fruits, this medium- to full-bodied wine is smooth and plush. With wonderful concentration and balance, the finish just goes on and on... Drink 2012 - 2025+.
The 2005 Smith Haut Lafitte packs a serious punch. A blast of wild cherry, smoke, leather, tobacco and mint hits the palate as this powerhouse Pessac-Léognan shows off its personality. Black cherry, mocha, rose petal, spice and chocolate all saturate the palate. This is an especially lush, potent wine shaped by density, concentration and plenty of oak. I would prefer to drink the 2005 sooner rather than later, as it is starting to fray just a bit. Tasted two times
This sensational, opaque blue/purple-colored wine from Smith Haut Lafitte has a gorgeous floral nose with notes of graphite, blueberries, blackberries, and cassis that jump from the glass of this inky, very dense, yet strikingly pure wine. Light on its feet despite its stunning concentration and multi-layered mouthfeel, this wine has fabulous intensity, richness and length. Quite impressive, and still incredibly youthful, this is a superstar of the vintage, and capable of lasting another 25-30 years.
One can't say enough about the accomplishments the Cathiards have achieved at this property since1990. Prior to their purchase of the property, appallingly diluted, vegetal, fruitless, charmless wines were produced, but they have turned Smith-Haut-Lafitte into a showcase Pessac-Leognan. The inky/blue/purple-tinged 2005's extraordinary nose reeks of charcoal, incense, scorched earth, abundant blackberry, blueberry, and cherry fruit, toast, and spice. Good acidity, huge but sweet tannin, and fabulous precision as well as definition characterize this full-bodied, super-concentrated effort. It should prove to be among the longest-lived wines yet made by the Cathiards. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.
This is another uncompromisingly made, gorgeous effort from Smith-Haut-Lafitte, a property that has done everything right since the new owners took over in 1990. The 2005's dense blue/purple color is accompanied by aromas of lead pencil shavings, espresso roast, blue and black fruits, and violets. Rich and dense with good acidity, high but sweet tannin, and an underlying minerality that is a characteristic of a top Graves, this beauty will require 5-7 years of cellaring, and should keep for three decades or more. Drink 2012-2037
I know it sounds like a broken record, but this may be the best Smith-Haut-Lafitte ever made. A prodigious effort, the 2005 boasts an inky/blue/purple color, sweet aromas of graphite, white chocolate, espresso, and blue, red, and black fruits, extraordinary density, moderately high tannin, medium body, fabulous layers, and an enticing texture. However, it comes across as delicate and fresh because of its acidity. This ageworthy Graves should last for 25-30+ years. Drink: 2006 - 2036.
Very lively nose with lots of richness underneath. Fine sandy tannins. Very zesty with some quite obvious sweetness. Lots of punch. Drink 2016-26.
A wine with blackberry and smoky wood. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long finish. Delicious already. Could be best ever. Balanced and long. Gorgeous. Almost classic quality.
Stretching from the rather unglamorous southern suburbs of Bordeaux, for 50 km along the left bank of the river Garonne, lies Graves. Named for its gravelly soil, a relic of Ice Age glaciers, this is the birthplace of claret, despatched from the Middle Ages onwards from the nearby quayside to England in vast quantities. It can feel as though Bordeaux is just about red wines, but some sensational white wines are produced in this area from a blend of sauvignon blanc, Semillon and, occasionally, muscadelle grapes, often fermented and aged in barrel. In particular, Domaine de Chevalier is renowned for its superbly complex whites, which continue to develop in bottle over decades. A premium appellation, Pessac-Leognan, was created in 1987 for the most prestigious terroirs within Graves. These are soils with exceptional drainage, made up of gravel terraces built up in layers over many millennia, and consequently thrive in mediocre vintages but are less likely to perform well in hotter years. These wines were appraised and graded in their own classification system in 1953 and updated in 1959, but, like the 1855 classification system, this should be regarded with caution and the wines must absolutely be assessed on their own current merits.
