2015 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
Buying options
Tasting notes
A beautiful white with pretty density and richness. Bright and clear with intense aromas and flavors of lilacs and stones. Some violet. Full and bright. Firm phenolic tension. Bright acidity. Mar 2016, JamesSuckling.com
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
This is a breed apart, featuring a wide range of verbena, chamomile and honeysuckle notes on the floral side, flavors of lemon curd, white peach and star fruit at the core, and a long finish that ripples with salted butter, brioche and acacia details. Beautiful. Mar 2016, James Molesworth, www.WineSpectator.com
Picked over a period of three weeks to achieve extra complexity, this is a delicious white blend, combining stone fruit opulence with saline acidity, smoky oak and mouth-coating texture. It’s at the riper end of the spectrum in 2015, but has plenty of freshness, too. Apr 2016, www.timatkin.com, Drink: 2017-2030
Incredible intensity thanks to almost no lees stirring and no cold soaking, instead vinified on the limit of reduction – they now only stir the lees when the reductive aromas are threatening to go too far. Instead they focus on harvest date and a short but firm pressing. Whatever they are doing, it works. Huge length, sweetness, tension and density; it gives you a lovely salinity on the finish, and always that Smith Haut Lafitte flourish. This truly stands out among the 2015 whites. From a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blan, 5% Sauvignon Gris (on gravelly soils) and 5% Semillon. Apr 2016, Jane Anson, www.Decanter.com, Drink: 2018-2030
About the producer
Ch. Smith Haut Lafitte is one of the leading lights of Pessac-Léognan today – all thanks to Daniel and Florence Cathiard, who took over the property in 1990 and have since transformed the estate, converting to biodynamics and crafting wines of increasing finesse.