2006 Smith Haut Lafitte
France
Pessac Léognan Grand Cru Classé, Graves
Bordeaux
Red
Bordeaux Blend
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"The color came quickly during the fermentation but not the volume or the flavor," said technical director Fabien Teitgen. "We macerated with minimal movement, doing very slow pumpovers because the tannins from the seeds were not ripe enough, and even after three weeks there wasn't much extraction. The volume only came in the fourth week and afterwards. But a lot of wines in 2007 were overextracted: they don't have the volume and concentration to support their tannins." Like some of his more successful colleagues in 2007, owner Daniel Cathiard maintained that his estate could not have achieved a good maturity level in its fruit had vine yields been higher; Smith Haut Lafitte produced just 35 hectoliters per hectare, he told me.
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"Our idea in 2006 was to make a harmonious wine," said technical director Fabien Teitgen. "We carried out a gentle but long extraction at a relatively low temperature." Teitgen told me that he did a bit of batonnage "but just once or twice in all," but then he only stirs the lees when he believes that "there's a problem between the wine and the wood." The estate harvested from September 20 until October 5, added Teitgen, "focusing on picking the best parts, ripe, for our first wine. It wasn't easy to get good maturity this year."