D
96
Decanter
JD
95+
Jeb Dunnuck
JS
97+
James Suckling
RP
94+
Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
Photos are for display purposes only and may have an out-of-date vintage, bottle shape or label.
Futures Pre-Sale (*)
*This presents a unique opportunity for wine enthusiasts and investors to acquire exceptional wines at favourable prices.

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc 2023 (Futures Pre-Sale) - 3 Bottles

This wine will be delivered after the Spring of 2026.

If you have any questions about 'Bordeaux Futures', please call David at 403.543.8900.

Purchasing 'Bordeaux Futures' presents a unique opportunity for wine enthusiasts and investors to acquire exceptional wines at favourable prices.

At this point (2024) we know the price of the wine, but we do not know the cost of the product registration, recycling costs, freight costs, insurance costs, and potential storage fees. In past years, all these costs accounted for approximately $20 - $30 per bottle. In other words, at the time of delivery (2026), we will calculate all the charges due before the wine is released. GST will also be charged before delivery.

The 2026 Futures Campaign will close on August 7th, 2024. If you see a wine you want to purchase, please place the order as soon as possible. It does not matter if you place multiple orders. Do not wait until the last minute, as some wines may sell out.

If you have any questions, please call David at 403.543.8900.

Product description

This wine will be delivered after the Spring of 2026.

A very aromatic notes with a lovely basket of yellow and white fruits, offering a beautiful sensation of freshness. Then, a great complexity unfolds with delicate notes of acacia flower, lime blossom, and charmingly spicy notes. The palate entry is quite surprising with its great freshness combined with a beautiful creaminess. The first impression on the palate is that of freshness, followed by the full expression of maturity, creaminess and richness brought by the perfect ripening of the grapes. The palate is wide, powerful but always supported by a refreshing acidic bone.

Blend: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, 5% Sauvignon Gris

97+ Points - James Suckling

Another exceptional vintage for Smith-Haut-Lafite Blanc. It’s so complex and structured, offering a palate that feels similar to the texture of a red wine with a velvety tannin structure. There’s a lot going on here. Spice, crushed seashell and citrus blossom. Salty, too. Weightless and so long. 90% sauvignon blanc, 5% sauvignon gris and 5% semillon.

95+ Points - Vinous

The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc was picked from August 23 to September 9 at 36hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a reticent bouquet at first, requiring a few swirls of the glass to reveal touches of orange pith, peach skin, wild fennel and light pressed white flower scents. The palate is very well balanced with a lovely creamy texture, counterbalanced by the taut line of acidity. Very poised and focused, it's somehow almost Corton-Charlemagne-inspired on the finish (perhaps due to the umami). This is a seriously fine white Pessac-Léognan. –Neal Martin

95+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck

One of the bigger, richer wines in the vintage, the light gold-hued 2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc offers up a killer nose of orange blossom, honeyed citrus, toast, spice, and minty flowers. It's medium to full-bodied and has a richly textured, layered mouthfeel, bright acidity, and a great finish. It's probably the white of the vintage.

94+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Aromas of white fruits, crisp orchard fruits, spices, smoke, spring flowers and pear introduce the 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc, a medium to full-bodied, layered and textured wine with a fleshy core of fruit and racy acids, concluding with a mineral, fresh and long finish highlighted by delicate notes of thyme and garrigue. Comprising 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon and 5% Sauvignon Gris and matured in 50% new oak, this blend is among the finest white wines produced at this address.

96 Points - Decanter

Strong aromatics, on the expressive side with herbal accents, spiced wood, green apple, quince, apricot, mango, peach honeycomb and elderflower. Very floral. Fresh and expansive, mineral and direct, but a good body full of fruit, freshness and honey characters. Definitely more opulent and exotic than the others in the range with hints of tropical fruit - pineapple and mango but also some lovely bitterness which adds tension to balance it out. A good combination, more vibrancy and energy than in previous years. Succulent and sumptuous with salinity. Very good and very easy to drink. Ageing 50% new oak.