Château Sociando-Mallet 2019

The maturation has had a very positive impact: it shows great class, but also a perfect balance between fire and structure, and oak. Thoroughly recommended.

Notes of minty cassis, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, deftly framed by toasty new oak, introduce the 2019 Sociando-Mallet, a medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated wine that’s incipiently complex and elegantly muscular in profile. The style of the vintage has lent this more youthful polish than is sometimes the case, and it will offer a broad drinking window.

Fresh and focused, showing red currant and damson plum, with a chalky spine and savory and tobacco flecks on the finish. Textbook. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2030. 23,500 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.

Some savoury elements on the nose, olive and black tapenade. Excellent concentration on the palate, less fruit-forward at this point than the Demoiselle second wine, but excellent tension and power – really taut, all in line, straight, driven. A lot going on aromatically – cinnamon, cigar box, cedar, smoke and dark chocolate – really super-complex, with tannins that are smooth but present and a minty finish. Layered and precise, you can feel the sculpting of the fruits and the well-handled oak and extraction. Excellent.

Redcurrants with sweet tobacco, hazelnut, mint and moist earth, following through to a medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins and a palate that grows at the finish. Needs a minimum of three or four years to come around. Try after 2025.

The 2019 Sociando-Mallet is elegant, nuanced and understated. Sweet red cherry, plum, mocha, spice, leather, tobacco, incense and dried flowers all open nicely. The purity of the fruit is just lovely. In 2019, Sociando is classy and polished. It is also an understated wine that needs time to show its full potential, which is considerable.

One of the best Haut-Médocs out there, and a wine that competes with any number of classified growths, the 2019 Château Sociando-Mallet is ruby/plum-hued and has a great nose of ripe red and black currants, spice, smoked tobacco, and loamy earth. It shows the more expressive, open, seamless style of the 2019 vintage and is medium to full-bodied, has beautifully polished tannins, and just about perfect balance. Smart readers will buy a case (or more) of this beauty, and it will have an incredibly broad drink window, with 30-35 years of overall longevity.

Deep purple. Seductive bouquet of morello cherries, redcurrant juice, and light tobacco. On the second pass, noble spicy cassis and lavender. On the delicate palate, it shines with a creamy texture, tight-knit tannic frame, finely crumbly extract, and gentle astringency. Focused finish of blue berries, cherry skins, and juniper. Still a touch brawny for now, but with the barrique richness, everything comes together nicely!

Kunz barrel tasting 2020: dark, austere, deep, powerful bouquet, black berries, plums, charcoal, liquorice, currants, cinnamon stick. Dense, velvety, powerful palate with dark, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, powerful, finely opulent aromatics, creamy, muscular structure, long, aromatic, dense finish.

Dark, bitter-edged, deep and powerful bouquet of black berries, plums, charcoal, liquorice, currants, cinnamon stick. Dense, velvety, powerful palate with dark, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, powerful, finely opulent aromatics, creamy, muscular structure, long, aromatic, dense finish. 18/20 2026 - 2050

Nuanced, concentrated, still very much in its primary phase but full of Sociando character, right at the heart of what this estate can deliver. It will clearly age for decades, and it is gorgeous, laced with cassis, dark chocolate, pomegranate, and graphite, balanced and juicy. Harvest from September 18 to October 11, 90% new oak, 12 months in barrel then 6 months in vat, 77 ha in production. Yield of 43 hl/ha. A tribute to Jean Gautreau appears on the label (you’ll find the words Hommage à Jean Gautreau), as he passed away at 82 in October 2019. Consulting oenologist Michel-Bernard Couasnon.

The 2019 Sociando-Mallet has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It is a little sluggish to begin, then delivers subtle notes of warm cassis, stewed plums, and pencil shavings, with touches of underbrush and wild fungi. The medium to full-bodied palate is a tad chewy and lean, with a refreshing, uncomplicated finish.

The vineyard dedicated to Sociando covers 77 ha. Its terroir is composed of gravel and clay over a clay-limestone subsoil. The average vine age is 35 years. The bouquet shows notes of black berries such as blackcurrant and blackberry, followed by sweet spices, a touch of peppermint, graphite, and licorice. In short, it’s very complex! Sociando has breadth. It is perfectly supported by smooth, fine-grained tannins that embody a sense of quiet strength. There is serenity, but the energy still needs to be somewhat tamed. Very nice fruity persistence on the finish. An elegant, powerful, sapid, and moving wine. A beautiful tribute to Jean Gautreau.

Logo on the cork: A in a circle (Amorim) Dark, purple, and intense color. Beautiful, highly aromatic nose, fruity and subtle. Fine nuances of blackberry jelly. Delicate on the attack, very fruity mid-palate, with flavor and a fine touch; the wine develops with precision, slowing a little on the finish. Normal length and without edges.