1995 Smith Haut Lafitte
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Tasting notes
Tasted at the Academie du Vin '5' evening during the primeurs, and the first real vintage that the Cathiards made after their arrival at the property in 1991, following three vintages of hail, rain and pretty much everything else that could go wrong. Here they set out their stall that things were going to change, and it's pretty impressive to taste today and see the ambition and the quality at 30 years on. Fully tertiary, perhaps a little less precision that you find in today's SHL, but supple, melted tannins, great reserves of spice, delicious wine that marks the arrival of an important estate.
Critic scores
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Magnum. Dark blackish ruby. Sweet, harmonious and energetic on the nose. A more interesting nose than the 1996. Smells SO much more youthful than the 1990. Sweet start and flattering but at its peak. Iron filings spread through the liquid. Quite uncompromising with more minerals than fruit. Very chewy stony finish. A little hard on the end. I think this must have been lovely but it is starting to lose fruit. Falls away on the end. (JR)
Quite rich and gravely/minerally on the nose. Tea and warm stones. A good stab – quite voluptuous. The sort of wine I’d except from Pape Clément nowadays. (JR)
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.