Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2021

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Dark in color, the wine opens with blackberry, boysenberry, flowers, cocoa, licorice, chocolate and black cherry. The wine is soft, polished, elegant and refined, with silky tannins, energy and purity to the fruit, which you can taste in the mid-palate. The finish delivers a precise note of chocolate-covered mint and cherries with a mineral, chalky endnote. Blending 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, 13.5% ABV pH of 3.65. The harvest took place September 22 through October 14. Yields were low at only 22 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2047.

Wine Enthusiast

Fresh, crisp but with intensity and ripe texture, this wine is the star of the white wines this vintage. It is tight, with minerality and acidity. Pink grapefruit, and a dynamic texture reveal its concentration. It will be a great wine from a great white wine vintage.

Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch

Raffaele Vecchione - WinesCritic.com

Infinite in its sensory profile displays a series of captivating notes that are immediately striking. Blackberries, lychee, wild strawberries, green tea leaves, eucalyptus, sandalwood and guarana blend well with lime, white pepper and nutmeg. Medium-full-bodied, solid and compact mid-palate closes dense and deep with remarkable tension. A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Best since 2026.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2021 Smith Haut Lafitte, a blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot reveals a deep, complex bouquet of dark berries, spices, licorice, pencil lead and flowers intertwined with hints of menthol. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and seamless, it's suave and concentrated, with velvety, elegant tannins and a refined, penetrating finish.

Jeb Dunnuck

The flagship 2021 Château Smith Haut Lafitte checks in as 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and a splash of Petit Verdot. It's a rich, powerful wine, delivering lots of ripe black fruits (currants, some cassis), notes of scorched earth and graphite, medium to full body, ripe tannins, and a great mid-palate. It shows the straight, focused style of the vintage yet brings plenty of mid-palate depth, ripe, building tannins, and outstanding length.

James Suckling

This is extremely perfumed, with violets, lavender, forest fruit and beeswax. Medium- to full-bodied with creamy, round tannins. It’s delicious already with a lovely balance, showing dark fruit, meat and chocolate with a hint of smoke. Straight and driven, it has a long finish for the vintage. 63% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 3% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but even better in a year or two.