Château Smith Haut Lafitte 1998

Yield: 32 hl/ha, before selection of the wines: Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte and Les Hauts de Smith.
Vinification of whole berries in small wooden vats at 28°C, extraction through pigeages.
Ageing 16 months on lees in French oak barrels (50 % new) made at the Château onsite cooperage, one racking only and then ageing adjusted for each wine.
Vine age: 38 years

98 reds: a great surprise!
We harvested the red grapes in two stages due to relatively heavy showers. The Merlot grapes were picked between September 22nd and October 1st, followed by Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon between October 2nd and 8th. The grape drying chamber, using a powerful wind tunnel system, proved its worth during the harvest. Placed on a perforated sorting table with 35000 holes, it showed how useful it can be in eliminating residual water. Four to five people were busy on a second sorting belt leading to the stemmer in order to get rid of any vegetal matter missed during the initial sorting.
This year we replaced eight concrete-skinned over steel fermentation vats with truncated conical oak vats. We then had all the means to make an intense, concentrated wine. The oak's thermal inertia, the flavour it contributes during fermentation and the excellent extraction it produces when the cap is punched, have helped to make this '98 the most concentrated, complex red wine we have ever made.
The Merlot is dense and well-structured with the "smokiness" typical of the greatest Pessac-Léognan wines. This will surely come out beautifully in the final blend. The Cabernet Franc is full of varietal aromas, and somewhat thinner than the Merlot. It will add a touch of elegance and finesse. The Cabernet Sauvignon is very fruity, well-structured and deep. The oak fermentation vats has given it a surprising complexity.