100-Point Wines

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As ever when tasting the two together, the striking thing is the difference in character rather than quality between 2009 and 2010. This is tighter, more structured in its concentration, more broad shouldered, but still intensely impressive and full of pleasure. Neither are ready to go yet, but this feels like it will last longer, and feels extremely Haut-Bailly in spirit, with an elegant but complex personality, and a grip that doesn’t make a big deal of its power but refuses to give up. Blackberry, bilberry, black chocolate and pencil. Harvest September 22 to October 14. Drinking Window 2020 - 2045Decanter | 100 DECGreat aromas of crushed blackberries with flowers and stones that follow through to a full body, with super silky tannins and a long, long finish. It fills your mouth with beautiful fruit and velvety tannins yet shows tension and form. This lasts for minutes on the palate. Structured and superb. Don’t touch until 2020.James Suckling | 98 JSDeep plum/purple, Haut-Bailly’s 2010 required some coaxing to appreciate its subtle notes of barbecue smoke, lead pencil shavings and creme de cassis as well as its touches of pomegranate and forest floor. The oak is pushed far into the background and the tannins are extremely silky, but the intensity of the wine is profound and the finish lingers for close to 55 seconds. This wine is ripe yet delicate, powerful yet stylish, and essentially resembles a remarkable fashion design from a house of haute couture. This wine needs a good 7-8 years of bottle age and should keep for 40-50+ years.Robert Parker | 98 RPThe 2010 Haut-Bailly has an outstanding bouquet with intense blackberry, briary, crushed stone and subtle violet scents, more backwards and more precise than the previous vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and firm grip. Layers of tar and tobacco are infused with black fruit and a touch of liquorice on the finish. This is a Haut-Bailly on another level from previous vintages that will age with style. Superb. Tasted at the Haut-Bailly vertical at the château.Vinous Media | 96 VMChewy and brambly, but integrated, this carries a very hefty core of espresso, ganache, mulled plum and blackberry fruit. The purity starts to shine through on the finish, which drips with cassis and is threaded with a long warm paving stone note. Tight and backward today, this extremely well-built wine will need substantial cellaring. Best from 2018 through 2035.Wine Spectator | 95 WSA powerful and complex wine from an estate performing on its top form. Solid tannins, layers of wood and dark fruits combine to give a wine that offers both richness and a dense structure. This Haut-Bailly should age impressively and for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(Château Haut-Bailly) The 2010 Haut-Bailly weighs in at 13.9 percent alcohol, making it quite ripe, but there is a lot of complexity here to be found on both the nose and palate and this could eventually prove to be one of the best wines of the appellation. The nose offers up a very ripe (but not overripe) blend of cassis, black cherries, tobacco smoke, soil tones and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and quite ripe, with a good core of fruit, good focus and plenty of tannins from a combination of new oak and skin tannins. One can sense just a bit of heat from the high alcohol on the backend here at the present time, but this may well simply be a passing phase for this wine and it could ultimately come around quite nicely. (Drink between 2022-2060)John Gilman | 87-90+ JG

A blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aging in 60% new barriques, the very deep purple-black colored 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte makes an impactful entrance, opening with flamboyant notes of blackcurrant pastilles, chocolate-covered cherries and molten licorice, leading to nuances of ground cloves, woodsmoke, crushed rocks and dusty soil. The medium to full-bodied palate bursts with opulent black fruit preserves and shimmering mineral sparks, framed by exquisitely ripe and fantastically firm tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epically long-lasting earthy and savory layers. This is the singular voice of Smith Haut Lafitte at its finest, and wow-oh-wow is it worth a listen. This 2020 has an alcohol of 14.5% with a pH of 3.65. The tannins this year were a little higher than 2018 and 2019. A little less than a third of production went into this grand vin.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98-100 RPPossibly ranking with the top two or three wines of the vintage, the 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte is a blockbuster that reminds me of a hypothetical mix of the 2009 and 2010. Based on a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, its dense purple hue is followed by a monster bouquet of ripe black fruits, scorched earth, charcoal, and graphite. All of these carry to a full-bodied Pessac-Léognan with flawless balance, loads of ripe, polished tannins, a dense mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It’s one of the gems in the vintage and should be snatched up by readers. Give bottles just 4-6 years in the cellar, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 20-30 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-100 JDSo much blackcurrant, graphite and iodine character. Full-bodied. Incredible quality to the tannins. They are polished yet powerful. It’s so long and complete with such depth and toned muscles. Vertical. Very fresh and energetic. Will it be better than the famous 2015? Maybe the best ever. From organically grown grapes. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 4% cabernet franc and 1% petit verdot.James Suckling | 99-100 JSThe 2020 Smith Haut Lafitte is a thrilling wine of grandeur and spellbinding beauty. The aromatics literally soar out of the glass, perhaps driven by a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. A vertical, explosive wine, the 2020 possesses tremendous energy. It is a rapturous wine that will delight readers for years to come. A move towards gentler extractions, with less oak impact, allows the purity of the fruit to come through loud and clear. Inky dark cherry, plum, mocha, dried herbs and lavender are all amplified in the 2020, but what I admire most is a total sense of harmony. I can’t wait to see how it ages, as evolution has at times been the sole Achilles heel here.Antonio Galloni | 95-97 AGPowerful on the attack, dense and concentrated at first then brighter on the retro-olfaction with layers of spice, liquorice and flowers. Intense but beautifully precise, with iris and peony aromatics coming in strongly as it opens in the glass. A ton of nuance and complexity, really takes its time, delivering a masterclass in restrained Pessac glamour. Average yields 30hl/ha for the reds. 1% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 60% new oak. Harvest started on September 9 - 30. (Drink between 2030-2050)Decanter | 97 DEC96–98. Barrel Sample. This is a very fine wine, packed with tannins that are rich and suspended in the wine with its smoky edge and ripe blackberry fruits. The wine is direct in its fine, fragrant freshness and in its texture that gives power and concentration. Obviously for long-term aging.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WE