Intense blackberry and graphite character coming out of the glass, together with dried violets, ink and some asphalt. Full-bodied with wonderfully integrated tannins that spread across the palate and then draw you deep into the wine. Lead-pencil and blackcurrant aftertaste. Tightly wound with a cashmere-like texture. A whole and thought-provoking wine. Try after 2028 and beyond.

Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez très aromatique, fin, fruité, pur et légèrement truffé. Caressant dès l'entrée en bouche, puis très savoureux au milieu, avec un corps fondant et même aérien, le vin caresse le palais, minutieux, en offrant beaucoup de saveurs dans la persistance. Grande longueur sèveuse.

The 2019 Smith Haut Lafitte has turned out very well indeed, unwinding in the glass with a complex bouquet of dark berries, cassis, forest floor, pencil shavings, licorice and spices. Full-bodied, broad and velvety, it's layered and elegantly muscular, underpinned by rich structuring tannins and lively acids, and it concludes with a long, expansive finish. This is another estate where the viticultural and stylistic evolutions of the last decade have delivered a beautifully balanced, harmonious 2019.

The aromatics are highly seductive, the texture silky and round, tannins relatively soft as they were in 2018, but lots of them, layering up one on top of the next. Violet rim around the edge, all the signs of an excellent quality En Primeur sample are here. Not quite as lush as the 2018, a little more like the 2016 in structure at this stage, boding well for the future. Refined in style with cassis and blueberry - good focus and concentration.

Nobles Bouquet, geröstete Kräuter, Waldhimbeeren, Brombeeren, Bitterschokolade, zart Toast. Gute Dichte, saftig, feines Tannin, gute Struktur, elegante Säure, feingliedrige Frucht, Himbeeren, Wildkirschen, Finesse, zart Kräuter im Finish, gute Länge. Gutes Potenzial!

La qualité du fruit saute au nez et au palais. La structure et la chair ne font qu'un, dans une bouche généreuse, vibrante, très naturelle malgré sa profondeur. C'est un des crus les plus concentrés de l'appellation en 2019, doté d'un grand potentiel d'évolution, mais c'est sa pureté, la proximité du fruit, son sens de l'équilibre que l'on retient, davantage que sa puissance.

A broad, rich and caressing wine, with a lovely display of cassis, plum puree and blackberry pâte de fruit notes. There's form thanks to a buried alder note, along with sweet tobacco and iron accents on the finish. A strong showing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036.

So viel Farbe und Dichte! Das Bouquet ist intensiv und subtil. Es enthüllt blumige Nuancen und Noten von Lakritzholz, gefolgt von einem Hauch von Feuerstein. Der Wein ist charmant im Auftakt, hat süße, aber straffe Tannine und eine erfrischende Spannung. Er hat Fülle und vor allem eine wunderbare Balance. Ein kraftvoller und einladender Wein.