2024 Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc, Pessac-Léognan

2024 Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte Blanc, Pessac-Léognan

New release

As always, a vibrant and spicy white from the Cathiards. It opens with a nose of ginger, lemongrass and white grapefruit pith. The palate is very driven and saline with a real sense of purity and ocean freshness. The finish is fresh and vibrant with a fine bitter lemon twist.

Critic score
95.5/100 info
Pricing
info
Case, 6 Bottles
En primeur info
In stock
£643.20
Bottle
En primeur info
In stock
£107.20

Wine details

  • Region & country
    Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Bordeaux, France
  • Maturity
    Ready 2027 - 2036info
  • Colour
    White
  • Sweetness
    Dry
  • Style
    Still
  • Unit Volume
    Bottle (75cl.)

Tasting notes

The 2024 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is a blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris and 5% Sémillon, matured in 50% new oak. It needed a bit of aeration in the glass, eventually revealing scents of Anjou pear, gooseberry, white flowers and light flinty aromas. The palate is well balanced with lilting nectarine, pear and stem ginger notes. Fine weight and depth, with a judicious touch of spice towards the finish. The sapidity and linearity of this impressive Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc mean it should repay cellaring.

Neal Martin, vinous.com (May 2025)
(94—96)/100

The 2024 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is complex, dynamic and an absolute delight. Everything about the 2024 speaks to class. Brisk acids drive through a core of citrus fruit, almond, mint, chamomile and white pepper. More than anything else, I admire the wine's tension and energy. Clean saline notes extend the dry, bracing finish.

Antonio Galloni, vinous.com (April 2025)
(95—97)/100

A gorgeous aromatic blossom of white peaches, peach pit, sage, apple blossom, soft clove and white truffle spices, gentle lift through the palate, a wonderfully fragrant, generous but finessed Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, with so much depth and length. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest August 29 to September 13, 3.2ph. Energy maintained through the palate, up there with one of the whites of the vintage.

Jane Anson (April 2025)
95/100

Floral and complex, the 2024 Blanc from Smith Haut Lafitte offers up aromas of white peach, apricot, spices and spring blossoms. Medium-bodied, round and layered, it's sappy and seamless with an incisive mid-palate and a long, ethereal and refreshing finish. Matured in 50% new oak, this blend of 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris represents a strong effort.

Yohan Castaing, robertparker.com (April 2025)
(92—94)

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