Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac Leognan 2014

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte has a long history in Bordeaux dating back over 800 years. The estate started out life as part of the Du Boscq holdings in the Graves region. It was Du Boscq who first planted vines in 1365 on a gravelly plateau called Lafitte. This is of course where part of the famous chateau took its name from.

Jumping ahead a few hundred years, George Smith bought the Graves estate in 1720. Smith added his name to the property, and now you know where the name Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte came from.

Today, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned and managed by Daniel Cathiard and Florence Cathiard. The Cathiards purchased the estate in 1990. They bought the property from the well-known Bordeaux negociant and importer to America, Louis Eschenauer.

According to Daniel Cathiard, there were numerous estates in Bordeaux for sale at the time. But a big part of the reason they purchased Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte had to do with the fact that Smith Haut Lafitte is one of the few Bordeaux vineyards producing both red and white wines.

Prior to the arrival of the Cathiard family, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte was not known for producing high-quality wine. It took a decade of hard work and serious investments before things began turning around.

Critical Acclaim

97 Wine Enthusiast

Dense and beautifully ripe, this is a rounded rich wine. It focuses on the tropical yellow-fruit spectrum. That gives a full wine with wood-spice hints and just the right amount of citrus acidity to give it a lift. Drink this finely structured wine from 2023.

96 James Suckling

A big black-cherry and bitter-chocolate nose leads into a rich, concentrated palate, where the fruit easily holds sway over the powerful, dry tannins. Its these that drive everything along right through to the assertive, slightly earthy finish; impressive long-term stuff! Try in 2021.

94 Wine Spectator

This has a generous feel, with ripe fig, boysenberry and blueberry compote fruit flavors that are entwined with alluring roasted apple wood, melted licorice and warm fruitcake notes. The broad, mouthcoating finish has a terrific graphite underpinning to stay honest. Best from 2020 through 2035.

93 Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

The 2014 Smith-Haut-Lafitte has a fragrant mulberry and strawberry scented bouquet with cedar and subtle undergrowth scents emerging with time. There is something almost Musigny-like here (written as a complement incidentallywhy not be compared to the greatest Burgundy Grand Cru?). The palate is medium-bodied with a soft and mellow opening. Quite spicy in the mouth with leather-tinged fruit on the open and inviting finish, there is something very approachable about this Smith-Haut-Lafitte, though like the 2014 Pape-Clement, it contains the substance to drink well over 10-15 years.

93 Jeb Dunnuck

The 2014 Smith Haut Lafitte shows the elegant style of the vintage, yet the depth of fruit thats common from this estate. Blackberries, currants, scorched earth, spicy oak and tobacco leaf nuances give way to a medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured 2014 that has ripe tannin and nicely integrated acidity. It has tons of character and is a beautiful, elegant wine to drink over the coming 15 years or so.