Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan, Cru Classé de Graves, Bordeaux, France, 2023

Dark and fragrant nose, scented and intense but not too rich and ripe, more cool, crisp and fresh. Aromatics of roses, floral elements and pot pourri - very welcoming. Big boned, this has expansion and intensity from the get go, powdery tannins fill the mouth with a juicy core and layers of freshness, mint, graphite, wet stones, herbs, cocoa and liquorice. Not as immediately as suave, soft and caressing as SHL can be, this is more serious, more straight and streamlined. Still finessed but this has muscle to it, forward and direct. It’s a beauty but will need time to expand and soften some more. Still very much on the Cabernet aromatics and power. I do like its density though, there is richness here, it’s not all straight and the tannins are filling. This has lovely potential with chewy strawberry and cranberry flavours. You don’t have the feeling of overt warmth with a cool freshness and touching on austere acidity, but this offers freshness and tension as well as ripeness. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. 26hl/ha yield, more or the less the same as usual winemaker Fabien Teitgen said.

Crazy aromatics here, beautiful fragrance, really dark bramble and blackcurrant fruit. Sumptuous, this has an element of hedonism which I love. Not fleshy but certainly filling, the tannins have a soft chew to them but this keeps the tension and bite around the edges. You have the body and there’s power but there’s something so well defined and precise about it too. Great balance with seduction - there’s a real singularity to this wine. Great purity with smoky touches, coffee, tobacco and dark bramble fruit. Lighter than previous years of course, but this is still so well made.