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.

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.

The 2023 Smith Haut Lafitte comes with a label celebrating the visit of King Charles III that year, though I presume it was not his advice to include more Cabernet Sauvignon (70%). It was cropped at 26hL/ha. Matured in 60% new oak, it has a lovely bouquet with blackberry, wild strawberry, crushed violet and light oyster shell scents. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, gentle grip, fine depth and a sapid, classically lined finish. One of the more structured Smith Haut Lafittes in recent years, it deserves four or five years in bottle. Excellent.