The Cathiard family, owners of Château Smith Haut Lafitte, joined the club of Bordeaux winegrowers based in California. The estate was founded in 1885 by two brothers from Scotland, James and William Rennie. The estate changed hands after Prohibition and again in the 1970s, until it was purchased by the Cathiard family in 2020. The cultivation of the vines and the production of the wines are carried out according to the same values as at Château Smith Haut Lafitte: a deep respect for nature and its beauty, meticulous work on the vines, and traditional know-how that plays a key role in innovation. This estate, located in Rutherford, boasts 25 hectares of vineyards. Cathiard Vineyard, located in the Rutherford and St. Helena AVAs, nestled in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains, where winemakers have cultivated the land for over a century. Cathiard Vineyard expresses the individuality of this unique terroir. Grapes are hand-harvested from Cathiard's oldest hillside vineyard. Once the grapes reach the cellar, they are gently destemmed and sorted to ensure the finest whole berries are used. The grapes are gravity-fed into fermentation tanks and left to macerate in the cold for up to five days. During the fermentation process, gentle manipulations, including pump-overs and punch-downs, enhance extraction. After 30 days in tanks, the wine is drained, pressed, and undergoes natural malolactic fermentation in new French oak. Only 8,000 bottles of the 2022 vintage were made. Drinks Business 99/100 : “ Excellent. Denser, plumper, richer and more aromatically expressive than Promontory but almost equally impressive in its purity and balance. Intensely floral with those perfumer's essences of violets and rose petals. Damson fruit confit. Black cherry. Blueberry. This is sumptuous and gracious with amazing poise and harmony and the most plunge-pool core. Fabulous with a lovely hint of graphite enrobing the fruits. So juicy despite the density .”