New Arrivals
Advanced Search
wine regions
quick links

Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge 2000

Pessac-Leognan, Grand Cru Classé

Excel download

View All Vintages of this Wine

Units Size Case size GBP Price: Quantities Buy
Tasting Notes

Taciturn on the nose at first, but coquettishly opening up with pure red-fruits, espresso, cedar and a touch of the old dusty antique bureau. Good definition. The palate is full-bodied, firm tannins, a touch of spice on the entry, a citric thread that counterbalanced the dense, ripe black fruit. This is nowhere near ready, but all the elements are here for a great wine, with notes of blackberry, cedar, graphite wild strawberry and freshly rolled tobacco. Persistent, grippy and utterly convincing. Drink now-2030. Tasted March 2010.

Score: 95

Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2010-2030 30 September 2010

One can’t say enough about this winery, which may still fly under the radar of most consumers. The fully mature 2000 displays gorgeous aromas of camphor, lead pencil shavings, unsmoked tobacco, plums, and black currants. With full body, a velvety texture, and beautiful weight, richness, and length, this superb wine should evolve, possibly improve for another 15 years. It’s a beauty!

Score: 95

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com 01 June 2010

A sensational effort, and undeniably the finest wine to ever emerge from this estate, the opaque purple-colored 2000 offers scents of tobacco, camphor, graphite, creme de cassis, and licorice. This full-bodied, concentrated effort possesses low acidity, a multi-layered texture, tremendous intensity of flavor, and a persistent finish with considerable ripe, well-integrated tannin. This is a brilliant example of equilibrium and finesse allied to considerable power and flavor. Kudos to the Cathiards. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.

Score: 94

Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2008-2025 01 April 2003