Professional Ratings

• 98 Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2023 Château Smith Haut Lafitte checks in as 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot, resting in 60% new oak. It sports a deep ruby/plum hue as well as awesome aromatics of smoky red and black fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and hints of violets. It's gorgeously textured, full-bodied, has a deep, unctuous mid-palate, and building tannins. It's unquestionably one of the gems in the vintage and should be snatched up by savvy readers. It's worth pointing out that this estate harvested very late, going to October 4, and it certainly appears to have paid off.
  Barrel Sample: 96-98
• 98 James Suckling
  This shows currant, tobacco and hazelnut aromas that follow through to a medium body with crunchy character and open-grain tannins that are velvety and so attractive. Graceful, friendly, crunchy and beautiful. The highest percentage ever of cabernet sauvignon in this wine. 70% cabernet sauvignon, 23% merlot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot. From biodynamically grown grapes. Best after 2028.
• 98 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  Château Smith Haut Lafitte stands among the most commanding and broad-shouldered wines of Pessac-Léognan, regularly going toe-to-toe with the world’s most celebrated bottlings. The 2023 vintage is a true showstopper, delivering compelling layers of multi-berry fruit wrapped in a beautifully judged accent of oak. Powerful yet impeccably balanced, it carries authority and finesse in equal measure, making it a natural star at the table—particularly alongside Bordeaux-style entrecôte à la bordelaise, grilled over high heat and finished with a rich shallot–red wine sauce and bone marrow, where the wine’s depth, structure, and polish meet their match. (Tasted: January 22, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
• 97 Decanter
  Dark and fragrant nose, scented and intense but not too rich and ripe, more cool, crisp and fresh. Aromatics of roses, floral elements and pot pourri - very welcoming. Big boned, this has expansion and intensity from the get go, powdery tannins fill the mouth with a juicy core and layers of freshness, mint, graphite, wet stones, herbs, cocoa and liquorice. Not as immediately as suave, soft and caressing as SHL can be, this is more serious, more straight and streamlined. Still finessed but this has muscle to it, forward and direct. It’s a beauty but will need time to expand and soften some more. Still very much on the Cabernet aromatics and power. I do like its density though, there is richness here, it’s not all straight and the tannins are filling. This has lovely potential with chewy strawberry and cranberry flavours. You don’t have the feeling of overt warmth with a cool freshness and touching on austere acidity, but this offers freshness and tension as well as ripeness. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 3.65pH. 26hl/ha yield, more or the less the same as usual winemaker Fabien Teitgen said.
  Barrel Sample: 97
• 97 Vinous
  The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is a powerhouse. In recent years, the Grand Vin has shifted toward a bit more nuance than in the past, but in 2023, small yields and thick skins yielded a somber, explosive Grand Vin. It will need many years to be at its most expressive. Blackberry, gravel, licorice, spice, plum and chocolate are some of the many notes that emerge from the glass. Readers will find a wine of real substance and textural intensity, framed by vibrant acids. A touch of air works wonders here. –Antonio Galloni
  Barrel Sample: 95-97
• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte is a brilliant wine, revealing a complex, elegantly oaky bouquet of dark wild berries, mulberries, blueberries, flowers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and rich, it has a fleshy core of fruit with good concentration and refined, structured tannins that segues into a long, penetrating and mineral finish. Crafted with an unprecedented majority of Cabernet Sauvignon—due to mildew affecting the Merlot—this Smith Haut Lafitte highlights a distinctly Cabernet-driven texture that authentically reflects its terroir despite a slightly more structured character. This blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, matured in 60% new oak barrels, represents one-third of the entire crop.
  Barrel Sample: 94-96
• 94 Wine Spectator
  Decidedly not shy, with a warm, rolling wave of mocha and bittersweet cocoa leading the way, followed by generous notes of plum reduction, blackberry preserves and melted black licorice. Roasted vanilla, chestnut and sweet tobacco infuse the finish liberally, while a loamy element keeps it all steady. For fans of the power style. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2040.