Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2025

Vanilla, caramel, warm honey, wax, dried herbs, flint, cool white peach and apple aromas. Explosive and alive, gorgeously clear and clean – there’s nuance and complexity here – but it’s lightly presented and delicate for Smith. Quite a streamlined style but actually the acidity is really well balance and not at all pronounced or too sharp. Clarity and cool freshness. Beautifully delineated, sophisticated with more tension and drive and energy than 2023. I like this a lot, a tiny dollop of sweet, tropical fruit with bitter elements too. The harvest for whites began on 20th August until 2nd September. A yield of 18hl/ha.

White peaches, orange rind, pineapples, pears, flowers, and a delicate touch of herbs form the aromatic profile. The palate shines with its opulent, sweet, ripe, white peaches, and creamy-textured pineapples. The wine blends 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris. 13.5% ABV, 3.25 pH. Harvesting took place August 24 - September 2. Drink from 2027-2038. 96-96 Pts

Pale gold colour, clearly the most structured, and reserved of the three estate white wines, showcasing bright vivid citrus and mint leaf, liquorice, sea spray, oyster shell, wet stones, white tea, nectarine pit, quince as it widens in the glass. Flavourful, with long ageing potential, love this. 18hl/h yield from these 80 to 90 year old vines. Expect a special label to commemorate the last vintage of Daniel Cathiard.

Right from the start, the bouquet highlights the complexity and depth of Smith Haut Lafitte 2025. Notes of mirabelle plums and citrus mingle with aromas of white-fleshed fruit, anise and mint. Creamy on the attack, the wine stands out for its harmony, the way it brings together both breadth and vivacity, with fine bitters that reinforce the palate expression and the lingering finish. A vibrant, incisive, mouthwatering and persistent wine. It will certainly be enjoyable young, but it also offers excellent ageing potential… which may prove difficult, given how delicious it is!

Pale yellow colour. Intense, refined, fruity nose, subtle and complex. Notes of spice and fresh almonds when the glass is swirled. Airy from the very first sip, with a classy, silky feel and a remarkably precise texture shot through with countless fruity flashes, this very fresh, savoury wine melts across the palate and perfumes it. The finish is long, sappy, energetic and charming. It then leaves the mouth fresh, as after tasting a great Chardonnay. Blend: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris. Alcohol: 14% - pH: 3.2. Yield: 18 hl/ha. Ageing: 50% in new oak barrels.

Delicate and fine, with a cool impression, floral notes, a cool fireplace character; behind that, exotic fruit and nutty notes. Dense on the palate—almost two mouthfuls of wine at once—oily texture, great acidity, a broad arc of tension, excellent length, and a mineral-driven, slightly phenolic finish with ripe citrus fruit and rhubarb on the back palate. Like the red Smith, this wine too is a little miracle of nature, brought to the bottle by a talented team.