Andrew Jefford | Dark, dense black-red. Lively, vegetal, almost nutty notes mingle with damask rose and citrus peel behind the lifted, curranty fruits in this charmingly scented Smith Haut Lafitte. Like the Haut-Bailly, it has already acquired remarkable harmony for a four-year-old; graceful and fresh. On the palate, it is soft yet cossetting, with perhaps the best tannins of the Pessac-Léognan cohort we have looked at. The ripeness of this wine, too, is impressive, with a more complete excision of green, copse-like notes than for the other members of the Pessac-Léognan cohort. Moderate concentration marks the length of the finish, but the wine’s complexity and intricacy is most rewarding. A super effort. 2018–26. | 92

Michael Schuster | Sweetly blackcurrant ripe to smell, and persistent; rich, fleshy, fresh, and finely tannic, a generous balance; an abundance of ripe fruit framed by a fine, faintly oak-dry tannin; long and juicy and satisfying, complex, aromatic, long across the palate, long and aromatic in aftertaste. Both seductive and refined at once, a succulently complete Smith Haut Lafitte, and a lovely 2014. 2023–40+. | 93