2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
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Tasting Notes
Candied peach, white apricot and peach blossom mingle on the nose, along with acacia, lemon peel, white pear and a faint musky note. A soft and juicy approach to the palate evolves with more herbal notes of chervil, grass and lime zest emerging. Mouth-coating and round, this is broad and dense with full, ripe stone fruit, countered by a spine of sappy acidity. A saline, savoury edge leads into a long finish. The freshness on this 2023 balances the rich fruit perfectly. Fermented and aged in 50% new oak. Blend: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Semillon
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
One of the bigger, richer wines in the vintage, the light gold-hued 2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc offers up a killer nose of orange blossom, honeyed citrus, toast, spice, and minty flowers. It's medium to full-bodied and has a richly textured, layered mouthfeel, bright acidity, and a great finish. It's probably the white of the vintage.
Orange cream, flowers, vanilla, pomelo, ginger, green apples, and a splash of pineapple hit the nose. Juicy, creamy, with sweetness, and balancing acidity giving the wine length, lift, and sweet citrus with a splash of spicy white peaches in the mid-palate, which carry through to the finish. The harvest took place August 25 - September 7. The wine blends 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris. 14% ABV, 3.2 pH.
A blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris, the white 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is aging in 50% new oak. After a swirl or two, it prances out with gregarious notes of white peaches, fresh pineapple, and green mangoes, opening out to underlying hints of lime blossoms, wet slate, and fresh ginger. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and vivacious, with a racy backbone and a long, exotic fruit-laced finish. Yum!
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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.