Château Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge 2025
Pessac-Léognan Grand Cru Classé
Bordeaux, France
Regular price£411.00
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Arriving: Mid 2028
Shipping duty paid to Mainland UK is charged at a flat rate of £9.99 per consignment and POA for Northern Ireland or Islands.
Shipping under bond is dependant on location, but starts at £15 per consignment.
| Style: Red | Packaging: OCC |
| ABV: 13.5% | Closure: Cork |
| Organic: No | Drink from: 2035 |
| Biodynamic: No | Drink to: 2055 |
| Grapes: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 27% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot | |
Critic scores
95-97 NM, 93-95 AG, 97-98 JS, 97-99 JD, 98 JA, 97 DC, 96-98 JL, 96-98 DB, 97-98 YB, 95 GM
Critic reviews
"The 2025 Smith Haut Lafitte was picked between September 3 and 30 at 28 hl/ha and raised in 50% new oak. It has a well-defined bouquet with mainly black fruit intertwined with Earl Grey, sous-bois and cigar box scents, a much more classical style of Smith Haut-Lafitte compared to recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, a subtle tobacco note that percolates through the black fruit, more structure coming through towards the sapid finish with a dash of black pepper on the aftertaste. This will fill out in barrel and should become a refined and quite delicious Smith Haut-Lafitte that will repay time in bottle."
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Smith Haut Lafitte is a very classy, elegant wine. Lavender, spice and mint open first, followed by a burst of black/purplish fruit. Medium in body, with terrific freshness, the 2025 is impeccably done. The lighter style vis-à-vis most years is quite attractive."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"This is so good, so much energy and depth, slate and wet stones holding interest and the palate expands, showing fragrant capsicum pepper, crushed mint, toasted spices, cumin, liquorice, cassis, cocoa bean, fully in the DNA of Smith Haut Lafitte. Harvest 1 to 30 September, and here they paused over that rain of September 23, as did Château Margaux - both estates were richly rewarded for this choice. 50% new oak for ageing. Last vintage of Daniel Cathiard, and expect a label commemorating the remarkable impact he had on this brilliant estate."
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"Beautifully crisp and clear aromas, dark fruit, precise and expressive. Smokey violets and ripe blackcurrants with white chocolate. Fresh and vivid, this is vibrant and so clear but still with a round and filling texture. Maybe a more delicate take from Smith with the minerality much more present than in some vintages but there’s excellent length, hints of spice and bitterness as well as a lifted finish. Very gravelly, salty, chalky and cool. Balanced, elegant and totally delicious. Not as Smith as some, less dense and fleshy, but there’s no denying this is approachable. A little less smooth and velvety, this is more crunchy, chalky and grippy than usual but no less compelling. 3.6pH. A yield of 28hl/ha. Began the red harvest from the 3 September to the end. Ageing 50% new oak. 1% of Petit Verdot completes the blend."
Georgina Hindle, April 2026, Decanter.com
"(Pessac-Léognan; 68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 27% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot; a final yield of 28 hl/ha; pH 3.6; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the Smith Haut-Lafitte with Fabien Teitgen and Tracey Dobbin). A little closed initially aromatically, but that just serves to draw you in. This is a little intimate and all the more beautiful for that. Graphite and pencil shavings with a little hint of the cedar to come. There's also a waft of oak smoke. Freshly grated black chocolate. Red and darker cherry fruits. In the mouth, this is ample, full, deep and extremely layered, with lovely green Szechuan peppercorns seemingly hidden between the silky layers. There's a hint of clove too. Succulent and impressively crystalline for a wine with so much richness and depth. I love the gentle spices, with a little hoisin, a touch of five spice, but all very subtle. There's a floral note too - iris, above all. Very energetic and dynamic. Lots of Cabernet freshness that turns to sapidity on the finish. Tuly excellent with great complexity, this is a wine that requires and rewards a little patience."
Colin Hay, April 2026, DrinksBusiness.com
Neal Martin, May 2026, Vinous.com
"The 2025 Smith Haut Lafitte is a very classy, elegant wine. Lavender, spice and mint open first, followed by a burst of black/purplish fruit. Medium in body, with terrific freshness, the 2025 is impeccably done. The lighter style vis-à-vis most years is quite attractive."
Antonio Galloni, April 2026, Vinous.com
"This is so good, so much energy and depth, slate and wet stones holding interest and the palate expands, showing fragrant capsicum pepper, crushed mint, toasted spices, cumin, liquorice, cassis, cocoa bean, fully in the DNA of Smith Haut Lafitte. Harvest 1 to 30 September, and here they paused over that rain of September 23, as did Château Margaux - both estates were richly rewarded for this choice. 50% new oak for ageing. Last vintage of Daniel Cathiard, and expect a label commemorating the remarkable impact he had on this brilliant estate."
Jane Anson, April 2026, JaneAnson.com
"Beautifully crisp and clear aromas, dark fruit, precise and expressive. Smokey violets and ripe blackcurrants with white chocolate. Fresh and vivid, this is vibrant and so clear but still with a round and filling texture. Maybe a more delicate take from Smith with the minerality much more present than in some vintages but there’s excellent length, hints of spice and bitterness as well as a lifted finish. Very gravelly, salty, chalky and cool. Balanced, elegant and totally delicious. Not as Smith as some, less dense and fleshy, but there’s no denying this is approachable. A little less smooth and velvety, this is more crunchy, chalky and grippy than usual but no less compelling. 3.6pH. A yield of 28hl/ha. Began the red harvest from the 3 September to the end. Ageing 50% new oak. 1% of Petit Verdot completes the blend."
Georgina Hindle, April 2026, Decanter.com
"(Pessac-Léognan; 68% Cabernet Sauvignon; 27% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot; a final yield of 28 hl/ha; pH 3.6; 13.5% alcohol; tasted at the Smith Haut-Lafitte with Fabien Teitgen and Tracey Dobbin). A little closed initially aromatically, but that just serves to draw you in. This is a little intimate and all the more beautiful for that. Graphite and pencil shavings with a little hint of the cedar to come. There's also a waft of oak smoke. Freshly grated black chocolate. Red and darker cherry fruits. In the mouth, this is ample, full, deep and extremely layered, with lovely green Szechuan peppercorns seemingly hidden between the silky layers. There's a hint of clove too. Succulent and impressively crystalline for a wine with so much richness and depth. I love the gentle spices, with a little hoisin, a touch of five spice, but all very subtle. There's a floral note too - iris, above all. Very energetic and dynamic. Lots of Cabernet freshness that turns to sapidity on the finish. Tuly excellent with great complexity, this is a wine that requires and rewards a little patience."
Colin Hay, April 2026, DrinksBusiness.com