CoolVines

The 2004 Smith-Haut-Lafitte is a rich example of the vintage, which perhaps isn't a surprise given the great lengths that the Cathiard family goes to ensure fruit quality. This bottling is coming into its own now and can easily age into the 2020s.

The property became a Grand Cru in 1842 due to the quality of its wines, but like many other chateaux in the region it's had its ups and downs. In the early 1990s the Cathiard family took over the estate and made sweeping changes in the vineyard and cellars. Some points of interest: the estates barrels are all produced on site by a resident cooper, and the red wines are never fined or filtered.

The undisputed king of France's wine regions, Bordeaux sits amidst and astride the rivers Dordogne and Garonne. Accounting for some 800 million bottles produced each year, Bordeaux has built its reputation on quality, with some of the world's most sought-after wines being crafted along the river banks. Bordeaux also creates a large amount of table wine, mostly sourced from the lesser of Bordeaux's 57 appellations. Bordeaux boasts over 10,000 winemakers. Known mostly for the red blends, Bordeaux also enjoys notoriety for its excellent sweet white wines, as well as several high-quality dry whites created mostly in the central regions between the two rivers.