Chateau Smith Haut LafitteChateau Smith Haut Lafitte Rouge 2019

Intense blackberry and graphite character coming out of the glass, together with dried violets, ink and some asphalt. Full-bodied with wonderfully integrated tannins that spread across the palate and then draw you deep into the wine. Lead-pencil and blackcurrant aftertaste. Tightly wound with a cashmere-like texture. A whole and thought-provoking wine. Try after 2028 and beyond.

Reminding me a little of the 2009, the 2019 Château Smith Haut Lafitte has a rich, powerful style in its cassis, blueberry, and black raspberry fruit as well as its chalky minerality, smoked earth, tobacco, and lead pencil shaving-like aromas and flavors. A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, this rich, unctuously textured beauty has terrific concentration, sweet tannins, and the vintage's hallmark elegance and finesse. One of the most concentrated, powerful wines in the vintage, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age (or a healthy decant) and will evolve for 30+ years if stored properly. Not enough can be said about what proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, as well as winemaker Fabien Teitgen, continue to achieve at this estate.

The 2019 Smith Haut Lafitte is deep garnet-purple in color. It jumps from the glass with bold notions of warm plums, juicy blackberries, and fragrant soil, plus hints of baking spices, lilacs, and Ceylon tea. The full-bodied palate has muscular fruit with a firm texture of grainy tannins, countered by lively acidity, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note.

• The 2019 Smith Haut-Lafitte has a Burgundian like purity on the nose: raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, touches of pressed rose petal emerging with time. The oak is a little prominent at the moment. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a fine bead of acidity, fresh and focused, building all the time to quite a structured yet complex and engaging finish. Very fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.