Wine Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Leognan AOC Grand Cru Classe, 2007
Reviews of purchase Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Leognan AOC Grand Cru Classe, 2007
Tasting Notes
The wine is light straw color with a beautiful shine.
Rounded, well-balanced, with a silky texture wine, rich palette of flavors: peach, apple, melon, lemon cake. Incredibly long finish with a light grapefruit bitterness and a pleasant minerality.
The wine has a bright intense bouquet with aromas of pineapple, mango, passion fruit.
The wine goes well with vegetable salads, white fish grilled or stewed in wine sauce.
Interesting Facts
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, dates back to 1365. That year the Scotsman George Smith has acquired land in the area Graves and built a manor, which gave its name in honor of his name. Later, there were planted vineyards, which in 1842 inherited the Mayor of Bordeaux - Duffour Dyubere. It was during his administration in Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, were created great wines, awarded the title of Grand Cru. Today, Château Smith Haut Lafitte-owned Katyardu Daniel, who is a fan of and continues to honor the tradition of this prestigious estate, seeking to bring their wines to perfection. And judging by the highest estimates from the most famous wine critics in the world, it is perfectly possible.
Wine Chateau Smith-O-Lafitte Blanc 2007 is created from three grape varieties, among which special attention should be paid Sauvignon Gris. It is this variety gives the wine captivating tones of grapefruit, peach, apricot and white flowers, and gives fresh mineral tones in the aftertaste. Sauvignon Gris allows the wine to age beautifully, adding a spicy tones in the bouquet of taste and flavor, as well as harmony in the structure of the wine. Fermentation and aging Chateau Smith-O-Laffitte is carried out in oak barrels for 12 months, with 50% of them new, and 50% are taken from the previous vintage. Wine is not filtered, and regularly poured from the barrel into the barrel, thus freed from the sediment and becomes softer, rounded taste.
Chateau Smith-O-Lafitte Blanc 2007 has a delicious, multi-layered taste, in which tones of tropical fruit gradually replaced with fresh mineral tones in a surprisingly long finish. Thanks to the perfect balance of wine ability to develop in a very long time, in particular millezim 2007 will be at the peak of ripeness between 2010 and 2022 year.
Producer's description
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte began its life 800 years ago. In the Middle Ages, the estate of the noble Du Boscq family was located here. It was Du Bosque who in 1365 planted vineyards on the rocky plateau of Lafite. A few hundred years later, in 1720, the Scottish merchant George Smith bought this wine estate. According to tradition, Smith added his last name to the former name of the Chateau. Since then, it has become known as Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. Smith built a mansion in the vineyard and began exporting his products to England.
The next prominent owner of the estate was the mayor of Bordeaux, Sadi Duffour-Dubergieu, who inherited the Château in 1842. He and his heirs expanded the vineyards, reconstructed the cellar and improved the quality of products so much that it was awarded the title of Grand Cru. The era of Duffour-Dubergeux came to an end at the beginning of the 20th century. Gradually, the estate passed into the possession of the famous merchant Louis Eschenauer. Since 1902, the Eschenauers have been distributing Chateau products, since 1914 they have already cultivated the land of the estate, and in 1958 they became full owners.
In 1991, the Eschenauers sold Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte to the current owners, Daniel and Florence Katjar. The Katjars are high-class Olympic skiers and owners of a chain of sporting goods stores. Thanks to their efforts, the once little-known Chateau has earned rave reviews from eminent critics and has become a success with wine connoisseurs around the world. In 1999, the Catiars built a world-class spa resort "Les Sources de Caudalie" in the southern part of the vineyards, specializing in wine therapy. The daughter of Katyarov, Matilda, participated in the creation of a series of cosmetics based on grape seeds.
When buying the estate, the first thing the Katyars abandoned was mechanized harvesting. Instead, the harvest is done by hand, in special small containers designed personally by Daniel Katjar. In the process of winemaking at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, modern technologies are widely used. So, tracking the ripening of berries is carried out using satellite images. This helps to organize the harvest at the peak of its maturity. The clusters are also destabbed by vibration. Berry sorting is carried out manually in two stages, the technology of optical sorting control is additionally used. All this allows you to select only the best berries for wine production.
