2023, Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, PESSAC-LÉOGNAN

Last Year EP $262.00-

11 hectares at Smith Haut Lafitte are planted with white varieties.
2023 is 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris
A label commemorating the visit of King Charles III is also featured.

Another exceptional vintage for Smith-Haut-Lafite Blanc. It’s so complex and structured, offering a palate that feels similar to the texture of a red wine with a velvety tannin structure. There’s a lot going on here. Spice, crushed seashell and citrus blossom. Salty, too. Weightless and so long. 97-98 James Suckling.

The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc has a reticent bouquet at first, requiring a few swirls of the glass to reveal touches of orange pith, peach skin, wild fennel and light pressed white flower scents. The palate is very well balanced with a lovely creamy texture, counterbalanced by the taut line of acidity. Very poised and focused, it's somehow almost Corton-Charlemagne-inspired on the finish. This is a seriously fine white Pessac-Léognan. 95-97 Neal Martin.

Distinctive as ever, right at the top of what Pessac Léognan Blanc can deliver. Structured, fleshy white peach and pear, waves of salted cracker and sage, creamy texture, great length, just a brilliant wine. A buy. 98 Jane Anson.

Aromas of white fruits, crisp orchard fruits, spices, smoke, spring flowers and pear introduce the 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, layered and textured wine with a fleshy core of fruit and racy acids, concluding with a mineral, fresh and long finish highlighted by delicate notes of thyme and garrigue. This is among the finest white wines produced at this address. 94-96 Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate.