2018 Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc Pessac-Leognan

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Jeb Dunnuck - “The Grand Vin 2018 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc ratchets everything up a notch, offering a vividly fresh bouquet of crushed citrus, salty minerality, caramelized grapefruit, acacia flowers, and toast. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and racy on the palate, with bright acidity, yet it still brings beautiful concentration of fruit as well as length on the finish. This is a brilliant white in every way. Give bottles another year or three and enjoy over the following 10-15. I suspect it will evolve well beyond that as well.”


James Suckling - “Dried apple, apricot, grapefruit zest, flint and a hint of hay on the nose. It’s full-bodied with crisp acidity and tight, concentrated layers of fresh and dried fruit. Incredible depth and focus. Even better from 2022.”


Wine Enthusiast - “Powerful and rich, this dense wine offers intense fruits and a texture that promises considerable aging potential. Whitefruit flavors come through strongly, combining with spice, structure and concentration. The wine will age for many years. Drink from 2025. Organic and biodynamic. Cellar Selection”


Robert Parker - “The Smith Haut Lafitte 2018 Blanc is a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris, aged in 50% new oak barriques. The nose hits the ground running with vibrant notions of fresh grapefruit, yuzu zest and lemon tart, plus touches of lime leaves, sea spray, green mango and wet pebbles. The medium to full-bodied palate quivers with energetic citrus and mineral-inspired flavors, charged with fantastic tension and delivering a gorgeous silkiness to the texture, finishing long and steely. A bedazzling Pessac-Leognan that cannot fail to impress, it should show best after a couple of years of cellaring and then drink for a good 15+ years.”


Wine Spectator - “This has a broad mix of lemon peel, gooseberry, tarragon and star fruit flavors that are holding back a bit for now, while wet straw, macadamia nut and shortbread accents emerge through the finish. Quite rich in feel throughout, but has the underlying zip and cut for balance. Seriously long too. Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Sauvignon Gris. Best from 2022 through 2030.”


Vinous - "The 2018 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc has clearly opened up in the 12 months since it was bottled. It has a really gorgeous bouquet of honeysuckle, orange blossom, nectarine and white chocolate aromas, the oak playing a supporting role. The focused palate delivers well-judged acidity, good depth, and flavors of tinned pineapple, clementine and touches of peach, maybe less malic than it showed out of barrel. It sports very good length, although it will clearly benefit from a couple of years in bottle. Drinking window: 2022 - 2040"


Decanter - "You can feel a touch more ripeness here than in some years but they have beautifully captured flavours of fleshy yellow pears, freshly cut herbs and some slate and saline minerality. This should manage a long life and I am surprised here, as with a few whites this year, by the grip and sense of fun in the wine. It's not quite the 2017 again, but has its own claim for attention. 50% new oak. Technical director Fabien Teitgen said he started picking early because he was worried about losing acidity, but found it was actually much better than expected. 28hl/ha yield. Drinking Window 2022 - 2036. Barrel Sample: 94"