This sensational, opaque blue/purple-colored wine from Smith Haut Lafitte has a gorgeous floral nose with notes of graphite, blueberries, blackberries, and cassis that jump from the glass of this inky, very dense, yet strikingly pure wine. Light on its feet despite its stunning concentration and multi-layered mouthfeel, this wine has fabulous intensity, richness and length. Quite impressive, and still incredibly youthful, this is a superstar of the vintage, and capable of lasting another 25-30 years.

A gorgeous Grave from this incredible team, the 2005 Château Smith Haut Lafitte is 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in a mix of new and used oak. More reserved and backward than bottles from my cellar, it has a rich, full-bodied, structured profile as well as classic Graves scorched earth, darker fruits, graphite, tobacco leaf, and subtle chocolate. Blockbuster stuff on the palate, with a stacked mid-palate and sweet tannins, it needs air, or another 4-5 years, to show at its full potential.

The Château Smith Haut Lafitte 2005 has quite a reserved bouquet, not the usual exuberant SHL-self, but it is very well defined and focused with that killer line of graphite lending it a Pauillac-like allure. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and poise. This is a sophisticated Pessac-Leognan with real drive and penetration, a long-term wine that is reserved now but will certainly be motoring nicely along with another 5 years in bottle.

– eRobertParker.com, Feb 2015

Good full ruby. Blueberry, black cherry and licorice on the nose, with smoky and mineral nuances. Dense and vibrant in the mouth, with intense flavors of kirsch, violet, licorice and smoky oak. Chocolatey-rich and sweet but with no shortage of energy. Finishes with noble tannins and compelling building length. Perhaps the most sophisticated and complete vintage yet from the Cathiards. I'd give this seven or eight years of cellaring.

Dark, narrow rimmed red; cedar oak over fresh, gravelly cassis fruit to smell, an early bouquet which will be lovely given time; rich mediumweigh wine, fresh and finely tannic, a lovely ’05 balance; long, ripe, fresh, refined, with Pessac discretion, a clear mineral aromatic character, and a lovely, fruit and gravel scented length; intensity and finesse combined. Complete, fine SHL. Now to 25+