CHÂTEAU SMITH HAUT LAFITTE BLANC
2022 Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan
This has structure and depth, serious tension, with slate, vibrant citrus, graphite, white pear, apricot, aniseed, liquorice, star anise, creamy but with a slice of steel that cuts through it. Brilliant quality, this is a standout white. Harvest August 18 to September 2. 50% new oak. Technical director Fabien Teitgen. Drinking range: 2023 - 2032 Rating: 96 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2023)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is airy, weightless and gracious. Citrus confit, mint, white pepper and tangerine oil and a kiss of French oak are all beautifully lifted. There’s lovely richness and texture but without the opulence of most warm, dry years. The 2022 will be a gorgeous wine at the dinner table. Drinking range: 2025 - 2037 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2023)
90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sauvignon Gris, 5% Semillon. 50% new oak. 14.5% alc. They started picking a small proportion of young vines at Smith Haut Lafitte on Thursday, the 18th of August, filling one press, but they then stopped. The fruit was not quite ripe enough, but there was panic in the region, with everyone hauling their fruit in as quickly as possible. They usually only pick their grapes when the bunches are ‘golden’, which often requires four or five passes through the vineyard. So they decided to wait four more days and then carried out two passes through the vineyards harvesting perfectly homogenous fruit in perfect condition. By the 24th and 25th, they were carrying out three presses per day, and they finished around a week later than neighbouring properties. If one picks early, the resulting flavours are raw and hard, resinous and severe, and I tasted many wines like this in 2022. But Smith Haut Lafitte harvested precisely on time and has made a true Grand Vin. This is an amazingly regal, layered and beautiful wine with incredible presence in the glass. The oak is perfectly balanced, and the finish is so dramatic and yet so delicate it takes the breath away. Dynamic, precise and with mouth-watering sea spray, lemon and patisserie tones, this is not a rich wine but a devastatingly pure wine. It manages to pack in so much intensity of flavour while remaining utterly refreshing and enticing. Rating: 19.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2023)
Cask sample. Pale greenish straw. Lifted with the perfume of Sauvignon Gris (to which they were introduced long before most Bordeaux estates by Peter Vinding-Diers) standing out even though it constitutes only 5% of the blend. Flattering and floral with a certain fresh salinity on the end. Quite rich. Maybe almost too much? It certainly isn’t an aperitif. Drinking range: 2025 - 2035 Rating: 17 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (May 2023)
This zooms over the palate from the minute you taste it with energetic acidity, grapefruit, pear, lemon and white peach character. Dried, candied lemon. Crushed stone, too. Medium-bodied with polish and class. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% semillon and 5% sauvignon gris. Rating: 97-98 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (May 2023)
Château Smith Haut Lafitte
Owned by the Cathiard family since 1990, Smith Haut Lafitte has a history that extends back to 1365. Originally owned by the Bosq Family, it was bought by Scotsman George Smith in the eighteenth century, and he gave it his name. He also built the manor house, and shipped the wine back to England.
In 1842, it passed, from his mother, to a M. Duffour-Dubergier, who was mayor of Bordeaux. His work raised the quality level and it was classified Grand Cru in the 1855 classification. The 20th century was mostly about Louis Eschenauer and his company, which distibuted the wines and eventually bought the property in 1958, investing over the time and building the barrel cellar.
The Cathiards fell in love with Smith in 1990, and have lavished care and considerable investment on it since then. Daniel Cathiard was a former ski champion, a member of the famous French Olympic team that included Jean-Claude Killy, and it was at that time that he met his wife Florence. Both have impressive track records of running businesses. Daniel built up the small chain of supermarkets that he inherited, and added a chain of sports shops, the group employing nine thousand people. Florence worked with him and also ran her own advertising company, ending up in a senior position in the McCann group. In 1990 they sold all their business interests to concentrate on Smith, where they have lived since. One of their daughters runs the Caudalie beauty products company (products based on the polyphenols extracted from grape pips), and the other two boutique hotels, including the 'Sources de Caudalie', next to Smith.
The Cathiards have since bought Château Cantelys in Martillac, and also, in 2012, part of the vineyard of Château Le Thil, as well as the house and the park. More recently they have been involved in the consortium which bought Château Bearegard (Pomerol) and Château Bastor Lamontagne (Sauternes).
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2024 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.