2015 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte has been uncorked and other ramblings....

[JimHow]

In honor of Daniel Cathiard, of course, the grapes from this vintage were developing during that splendid BWE visit to the estate in 2015.

Quite shy on the nose at the outset.....

[JimHow]

Tannins are smooth, still needs some coaxing with the bouquet. Taking a little break tonight from trial preparation, we picked a jury this week, the murder re-trial of State of Maine v. Tyler Witham-Jordan begins on Tuesday, expected to last until the end of the month.

https://www.newscentermaine.com/video/n ... e471ef136a

[JimHow]

Excited to have Timmy on board as an assistant manager! Perhaps we can develop a new look for BWE in the weeks and months ahead.

This seems to be a "pleasant" SHL, still nothing on the nose, but pleasant, medium bodied in the mouth. Not much by way of tannins but still good freshness.

[JimHow]

Boy this wine is a bit of a surprise, quite nuanced, not like I remember those bruising, tannic 100 point Parker SHLs from 2009 and 2010, one of which I believe we had (the 2009?) when we visited the property.

[JimHow]

This was an exciting wine but it was international. I have not had the Cathiard California bottling but this could have been Kalifornian. What surprised me, almost shocked me, was how elegant, nuanced, medium bodied it was. The reason why I uncorked this was in honor of Daniel Cathiard, who passed away this month. We met him and Madam Cathiard when Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts visited Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in 2015. We were there when Singapore President Danny Fan had just arrived, sharp shooters on the rooftops, and the Cathiairds greeted us out in the garden in the late afternoon sun, Mrs. Cathiard whispering to us that she would rather hang out with us for dinner than with the boring Singapore president. The Cathiards were so lovely and classy. It truly was a magical moment. Later that evening we were treated to a great dinner at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, and multiple great vintages of SHL were uncorked by the winemaker, who was there with us. My memory is that we uncorked one of the recent Robert Parker SHL 100 point vintages, I think it was the 2009. When we visited in the spring of 2015 the grapes of this 2015 SHL were probably just budding. Eleven years later, this 2015 SHL is, frankly, a surprise. I was expecting the tannins of the 2009-10 vintages. This was "ethereal," light on its feet, very, very smooth tannins, so delicious, but... is it Bordeaux??? I have two bottles left, I'll uncork them at the five and ten year marks. A delicious wine, a 94+ pointer for sure, but the big question is how "Bordeaux" is it? It did not seem very Graves to me. Having said that, it seemed like an outstanding translucent California wine that, at the price, would be a great deal. Don't get me wrong: I loved this wine, it easily merits 94+ points.

[stefan]

Probably it just needs to be blanquitoed once or twice, BD. Jailbait classified Bordeaux rarely delivery what they promise up front in my experience.

[greatbxfreak]

Jim,

I had this wine several months ago, and it fit your description well. Very international. 100 p by R. Parker then, but absolutely not now.

However, it was outshone by a special cuvée from Château Seguin, based in Canejan (Pessac-Léognan), called Confidence(s) de Château Seguin, in the same vintage. It was much more Bordeaux, with its smoky flavors. 95-96p.

[Nicklasss]

yes Jim, it was the 2009 they served us during the dinner in 2015. what i remember, it was not in the plan for that dinner, but the winemaker was having a good time with us, so decide to offer us and add that 100 Parker point 2009 vintage, to the lineup.

All Château in Bordeaux are nice, but i agree with you that the visit to SHL was a highlight of the 2015 BWE Bordeaux week, and a great Château with their own ‘’tonnellerie’’, and the Cathiard took the time to welcome us, that was special considering that President of Singapore was in the place.

[Comte Flaneur]

yes Jim, it was the 2009 they served us during the dinner in 2015. what i remember, it was not in the plan for that dinner, but the winemaker was having a good time with us, so decide to offer us and add that 100 Parker point 2009 vintage, to the lineup.

All Château in Bordeaux are nice, but i agree with you that the visit to SHL was a highlight of the 2015 BWE Bordeaux week, and a great Château with their own ‘’tonnellerie’’, and the Cathiard took the time to welcome us, that was special considering that President of Singapore was in the place.

If I remember correctly it was Florence who asked the winemaker Fabien to add the 2009 to the the line up for our dinner when we visited.

I also thought - and am probably wrong on this - that the Singaporean PM was just leaving when we arrived and that the reason why Florence and Daniel could not join us was because they were preparing to fly off to NYC for a dinner with Parker of Parker rated 100 point wines, of which the SHL is one of them as well as several other 2009s.

I thought the 2009 was very good but not quite 100 pts at the time, but remember the wine was only six years old when we had it, just a baby. I tried it in 2020 and thought it was superb, rating it 98 pts.

As for the 2015 I enjoyed reading your write up Jim. I had this in November at the SHL vertical I attended here in London. My first pour of the 2015 contained some dregs so I kicked up a fuss with the result that I got a super large slug of it from another bottle at the end of the tasting. I thought it just fabulous and rated in 96 pts. I did find plenty of Graves typicity in it, unlike you Jim.

SHL really is of super second quality - both for whites and for reds - I can say that on here without having to hide behind the sofa like I do when I say that on here about Lynch Bages.

[JimHow]

Ian, my recollection is that they had just done a reception with the Singapore president in the chateau and were now advancing to a side residence for dinner with him. But I could be wrong on that, I just Googled and I don't see any Singapore Presidents named Danny Fan. Google says the President of Singapore in 2015 was Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam. The prime minister at the time was Lee Hsien Loong. I have no idea where I came up with Danny Fan. My guess is it was Tony Tan.

I do see that some on Cellartracker said this wine benefits with air, Ian, so maybe that accounts for the different experiences.

[Nicklasss]

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SHL really is of super second quality - both for whites and for reds - I can say that on here without having to hide behind the sofa like I do when I say that on here about Lynch Bages.
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