Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very aromatic, with blossom honey, sliced lemons and ripe green apples. Medium-bodied, it starts off slowly before building on the palate with a creamy texture and a fresh and driven finish. So much energy at the end. Impressive for the second wine. 80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon. From organically grown grapes.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Mostly Sauvignon Blanc yet with 20% Sémillon, the 2021 Le Petit Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc is a more serious white with a focused, medium-bodied, chiseled style that, truthfully, has a lot in common with the Grand Vin from this incredible château. Crushed citrus, ripe grapefruit, sappy herbs, and notable minerality all define the aromatics, and it's balanced, has high yet integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's going to keep for a decade and should be snatched up by savvy readers.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Sémillon that matured in 50% new oak barrels, the 2021 Le Petit Haut Lafitte Blanc exhales a spicy, elegant bouquet with aromas of lime tree leaves, verbena, spring flowers and citrus oil. Medium to full-bodied, round and satiny, it’s fleshier than Les Hauts de Smith with gastronomic bitterness on the finish.
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Decanter
Crunchy green apple, lime juice and some elderflower with really soft hints of honeyed brioche. Sharp yet soft, this has a good immediate presence of lemony, peach and apricot fruit and a creamy base which is given an energetic push by a lemon zest freshness. Gentle, softly round and driving, this feels refined and delicate, elegant with enough vibrancy and power to give a mouthful of wine with persistence. Very enjoyable.
Barrel Sample:
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
Recognized for its superior reds as well as whites, Pessac-Léognan on the Left Bank claims classified growths for both—making it quite unique in comparison to its neighboring Médoc properties.
Pessac’s Chateau Haut-Brion, the only first growth located outside of the Médoc, is said to have been the first to conceptualize fine red wine in Bordeaux back in the late 1600s. The estate, along with its high-esteemed neighbors, La Mission Haut-Brion, Les Carmes Haut-Brion, Pique-Caillou and Chateau Pape-Clément are today all but enveloped by the city of Bordeaux. The rest of the vineyards of Pessac-Léognan are in clearings of heavily forested area or abutting dense suburbs.
Arid sand and gravel on top of clay and limestone make the area unique and conducive to growing Sémillon and Sauvignon blanc as well as the grapes in the usual Left Bank red recipe: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and miniscule percentages of Petit Verdot and Malbec.
The best reds will show great force and finesse with inky blue and black fruit, mushroom, forest, tobacco, iodine and a smooth and intriguing texture.
Its best whites show complexity, longevity and no lack of exotic twists on citrus, tropical and stone fruit with pronounced floral and spice characteristics.