Professional Reviews
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James Suckling
95
Decadent and rich on the nose with lots of ripe fruit and meaty undertones. Almost truffle-like. Full body, lots of ripe tannins and plenty of fruit. Still needs time to soften. Big and juicy for the vintage. Better in 2018 but impressive now.
(06/2016)
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Wine Enthusiast
93
An elegant wine, smooth and rounded, bringing out smoky fruits over tannins that smooth out as the fruit unfolds. Less opulent than some previous vintages, the wine shows restraint and aging potential. *Cellar Selection* (RV)
(04/2011)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
92
One of the stars of the vintage, this elegant, smoky wine has hints of barbecue pit intermixed with sweet black currants and cherries. Dark purple and medium to full-bodied, its impressive finesse and wonderful purity make for a surprisingly forward style of Smith-Haut-Lafitte to drink over the next 15 or so years. (RP)
(05/2011)
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Vinous
92
The 2008 Smith Haut Lafitte is a lovely wine for the vintage, still quite polished on the nose with scents of blackcurrant and raspberry coulis, a touch of melted tar and tobacco; youthful for its age and showing fine vigor. With aeration there is suddenly a strong scent of liquorice. The palate is soft and rounded on the entry however, there is great depth on the mid-palate with layers of slightly toasted black fruit laced with tobacco, black pepper and smoke. I just felt there is a little dryness creeping in towards the finish, nevertheless this is a fine Pessac-Léognan. (NM)
(02/2018)
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Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
91
Good medium ruby. Black cherry, dark berries and licorice on the nose. Sweet but firm, with excellent concentration and medicinal reserve to the dark berry flavors. An elegant, ripe, smooth wine with a lovely mounting finish featuring suave tannins. No rough edges or austerity here--in fact this is downright creamy in the mid-palate--but this has plenty of structure for a graceful evolution in bottle. (ST)
(07/2011)
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Wine Spectator
91
This expressive red shows intensity with grace, balancing pure black cherry, mineral and tobacco flavors with toasty oak and fresh acidity. The tannins are firm but ripe, fading to a floral, smoky finish. (TM)
(04/2011)
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