2025 Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge, Pessac-Léognan
Pre-Arrival
97-
99
Jeb Dunnuck
Review Date: 05/2026One of my favorite wines in the vintage, the 2025 Château Smith Haut Lafitte is based on 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, raised in 50% new oak, 45% old barrel, and 5% foudre. Beautiful darker fruits, scorched earth, smoky tobacco, chocolate, and graphite all define the aromatics, and on the palate, it's full-bodied, with a deep, concentrated mid-palate, beautiful tannins, and nicely integrated acidity. It brings beautiful ripeness as well as a balanced, textured, seamless style.
Price: $99.99
QTY
Product Availability
Pre-arrival items can be purchased in advance of their arrival at our stores. This product is estimated to be available for delivery or pickup by 09/15/2028.
Professional Reviews
98
Jane Anson
Review Date: 04/2026
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.
97-
98
James Suckling
Review Date: 04/2026
So aromatic and expressive, with pure currants and mint, plus some chocolate. Fennel too. Wow. Medium- to full-bodied with very deep fruit, fine, velvety tannins and a long, fine texture. The precision and depth are impressive. More fruit-driven than usual. It grows on the palate and is compact at the end. Very cabernet in the end. Almost like St.-Julien and Pauillac in nature. A blend of 68% cabernet sauvignon, 27% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.
97
Decanter
Review Date: 04/2026
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 (GH)
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Staff Reviews
There’s terrific balance in Smith Haut Lafitte’s 2025, a wine that beautifully combines deeply pitched fruit and fine minerality, giving it such a wonderful sense of place. Subtle floral and red fruit aromas lead to a palate that is at once saturated with fruit and still lifted by bright acidity. A broad and full midpalate carries the deep red-to-black fruit, shows great depth and layers, and ends on a mineral/savory note. With a long, mouthwatering finish and finely managed tannins, it’s a wine that shows the terroir at Smith Haut Lafitte, the refreshing character of the 2025 vintage, and the integration that marks some of the year’s best. This vintage will feature a fitting tribute to the late Daniel Cathiard, one of the greats of Bordeaux’s modern era.
Review Date: 06/2026
Email AndrewBright acidity and a wonderful mineral backbone frame a palate of crunchy blackberry, cocoa, cedar, and red fruit. Grippy and precise, with a gravelly texture that is distinctly Pessac-Léognan. This is a very strong buy.
Product Details
Origin: Pessac-Leognan/Graves, Bordeaux, France
Type/Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon and Blends
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
SKU: #2020600