2015 Le Petit Haut Lafitte, Red
The 2015 Le Petit Haut Lafitte is as worth keeping as its 2010, 2005 vintages. Is 2015 too green then? No,it is just right, if you savour the bottle(S) over a dinner. Our experience tells that this is performing very well and matches with most stew dishes at the famous Yi Xin Restaurant on Hennessey Road.
Dark ruby; tight, pink rim. Second wine of the famous Smith Haut Lafitte, the 2015 Le Petit Haut Lafitte has adequate structure and depth even for the connoisseur. Nose like the First Wine, it is sufficiently brooding with power. In oak for 14 months, it is somewhat big and bold as a second wine and is a severe second wine built with its majority 60% Cabernet. It is quite modern, recalling fresh currant, blackberry, cherry. The 20% new oak is evident for clear tones of cedar, cigar box, violet, rose, truffle, earth, coffee and fresh leather.
The firm, medium palate, with 14% abv, is easy to understand- precise currant, blackberry, cherry, with green tones (bell pepper, olive, asparagus), spice( ginger, oak). Smoke, toast, tar, minerality are there, with ample but silky tannins. Softening a bit after a year or 2 years of bottle age, it keeps evolving for another 3 to 5 years.
Having tasted this second wine since the 2005 vintage, we always believe, as Galloni also does, that this version(Les Petit Haut Lafitte 2015) of second wine a bit more representative of the Grand Vin Hauts de Smith. A rare second wine that on its own can gain a slew of excellent scores (92 WA, 92 AG, JS93, etc.)
Full, 1.5 hour decanting suggested.
