The property
Located in the heart of the Pessac-Léognan appellation and dating back to 1365, Château Smith Haut Lafitte is one of the oldest châteaux in Bordeaux. This magnificent property entered a new era in its history after its purchase by Daniel and Florence Cathiard in 1990. Carried with passion and ambition by the Cathiard couple, Château Smith Haut Laffite has become one of the most beautiful properties in the Graves region, with vintages renowned worldwide for their elegance and style, both in red and white.
The vineyard
Superbly located, the vineyard of Château Smith Haut Laffite covers 78 hectares of vines, which are on average 40 years old. The château uses its own vine plants thanks to a mother vine preserved in the nursery on the island of Lalande.
The wine
This 2020 vintage marks Daniel and Florence Cathiard's 30th harvest, Fabien Teitgen's 25th and the château's 655th anniversary. For this occasion, the Château Smith Haut Laffite white is adorned with a new exclusive label illustrating the property through an elegant golden engraving.
The vintage
The mild and humid winter favored an early budding in early March. The rise in temperature in April allowed the vines to grow well. A rainy episode at the beginning of May triggered a pressure of mildew controlled by the care brought to the vineyard by the team of the castle. The development of the vine (flowering, veraison) is rapid and homogeneous. The summer conditions of heat and drought caused the first hydric stress at the end of July. The harvest started on August 20th for the whites and on September 9th for the reds and was one of the earliest in the history of the estate.
The maturation of the white grape varieties brought a great diversity of batches, some tense, some fat and powerful, magnified by the blending.
Vinification and maturation
The harvested grapes are directly pressed in an inert environment. Fermentation is carried out in barrels from the cooperage integrated into the chateau, as is the maturation on lees for 12 months. A post-blending in vats is carried out for 2 to 3 months to perfect the texture before bottling.
Blending
Château Smith Haut Laffite white 2020 is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (90%), Semillon (5%) and Sauvignon Gris (5%).