Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Leognan AOC Grand Cru Classe 2016

Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte began its life 800 years ago. In the Middle Ages, it was the estate of the noble family Du Boscq. It was Du Boscq who planted vineyards on the rocky plateau of Lafitte in 1365. Several hundred years later, in 1720, Scottish merchant George Smith bought this winemaking estate. By tradition, Smith added his surname to the previous name of the Chateau. Since then, it has been known as Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte. Smith built a mansion on the vineyard and began exporting his products to England. The next outstanding owner of the estate was Bordeaux mayor Sadi Dufour-Dubergue, who inherited the Chateau in 1842. He and his heirs expanded the vineyards, reconstructed the cellar, and improved the quality of the products to such an extent that it was awarded Grand Cru status. The era of Dufour-Dubergue came to an end in the early 20th century. Gradually, the estate passed into the hands of the famous merchant Louis Eschenauer. Starting in 1902, the Eschenauers were involved in the distribution of the Chateau's products, and by 1914 they were already cultivating the estate's lands, becoming full owners in 1958. In 1991, the Eschenauers sold Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte to its current owners — Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The Cathiards are high-class Olympic skier couples and owners of a chain of sporting goods stores. Thanks to their efforts, the once little-known Chateau has earned rave reviews from renowned critics and has become popular among wine lovers worldwide. In 1999, the Cathiards built a world-class spa resort "Les Sources de Caudalie" in the southern part of the vineyards, specializing in vinotherapy. The Cathiards' daughter, Mathilde, participated in creating a series of cosmetics based on grape seeds. Upon purchasing the estate, the Cathiards immediately abandoned mechanical harvesting. Instead, the harvest is collected by hand in special small containers personally designed by Daniel Cathiard. In the winemaking process at Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte, modern technologies are widely used. For example, the ripening of the berries is monitored using satellite images. This helps organize the harvest at the peak of ripeness. Additionally, the bunches are destemmed by vibration. The sorting of the berries is done manually in two stages, with optical sorting technology also used. All this allows only the best berries to be selected for wine production.