1998 | Chteau Smith Haut Lafitte | Pessac-Leognan

Description

Red Wine: 1998 | Chteau Smith Haut Lafitte | Pessac-Leognan

Medium ruby red. Medium to good aromatic intensity of ripe cassis fruit & cedary oak on the nose. The palate shows a more redcurrant nature with lovely complexity derived from notes of coffee, cedar & tobacco leaf.

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Producer: Chteau Smith Haut Lafitte

Ratings: WA | 90 JS | 93

Vintage: 1998

Size: 750ml

ABV: 12.5%

Varietal: Bordeaux Blend Red

Country/Region: France, Bordeaux

Medium ruby red. Medium to good aromatic intensity of ripe cassis fruit & cedary oak on the nose. The palate shows a more redcurrant nature with lovely complexity derived from notes of coffee, cedar & tobacco leaf. Medium to full-bodied & with warming alcohol – the finish is superb, showing lots of cedar, vanilla & cocoa butter.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: A beautiful wine of symmetry, finesse, and elegance, this deep ruby/purple-colored offering reveals classic aromas of black currants, new wood, and scorched earth. This pure, medium-bodied, restrained, measured, graceful 1998 offers impressive overall symmetry as well as well-integrated tannin.

• James Suckling: Now shows plums, earth and light chocolate character, and lovely balance. Its full-to-medium-bodied with fine tannins and a very pretty finish.

Producer Information

Chteau Smith Haut Lafitte is located in Pessac-Lognan on the Left Bank of the Garonne River. During the 1959 Classification of the Graves it was rated as Grand Cru Class for its red wine. Nowadays the estate is also considered to produce one of the foremost examples of white Bordeaux. Cabernet Sauvignon usually accounts for 60-65 percent of the red grand vin. Merlot contributes around 30 percent, and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot round out a typical blend. The wine is aged in barrel for around 18 months, with 60-65 percent new wood. The white grand vin is usually Sauvignon Blanc-dominant, with around five percent each of Smillon and Sauvignon Gris. The wine is fermented and aged in barrel, resting on its lees for a year. Half of barrels are new in both stages. The second wines are the Le Petit Haut Lafitte white (introduced in 2013) and red (from 2010). They are made from lots identified during the blending of the grand vins. With the second wines, the red is designed to show more of a rounder, Right Bank style, and is usually a 55:45 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged in barrel for 14 months. The white is an 80:20 Sauvignon Blanc – Smillon combination, also vinified like the grand vin, but with around 10 months of barrel maturation. The Les Hauts de Smith duo are now the third wines of the estate. They are usually matured in barrel for the same length of time as their Petit Haut Lafitte, but with a lower proportion of new oak.