Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 1990
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1990 gets my nod as the best wine produced at this estate since the 1982. Dense and concentrated, it possesses an opaque black/purple color. The nose offers up pure, vibrant aromas of black-cherries and raspberries as well as minerals and spicy new oak. The wine's richness and mouth-searing tannins culminate in an intense, even dazzlingly long finish. A knock-out! Anticipated maturity: 2000-2020.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This is an outstanding 1990. The nose is very broody and backward with notes of melted dark chocolate, gravel and a hint of decaying leaves. The palate is very backward with a huge structure. Very tannic and majestic. Spicy, toasty finish. This wine is giving nothing away now, but there is a lovely bacon fat finish. Delicious. From 2012. Tasted April 2005.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Once again this estate revealed its excellent quality/price ratio. As one taster so appropriately stated after learning the identity of both the 1989 and 1990 Sociando-Mallets, "I'd rather have the '89 or '90 Sociando-Mallet than the '89 Margaux or '90 Mouton in my cellar." Both wines showed surprisingly well, performing at second or third-growth levels. The 1990 appears to be the finest Sociando-Mallet since the sensational 1982. The wine possesses an opaque purple color, and a tight but promising nose of thick, cassis, blackcurrant fruit, subtle roasted herbs, smoke, licorice, and minerals. Powerful, super-concentrated, and backward, with layers of flavor and high tannin, this striking wine should evolve for 2-3 decades.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1990 gets my nod as the best wine produced at this estate since their 1982. Denser and more concentrated than the 1989 and 1986, it also possesses more structure and personality. The color is opaque black/purple and the nose offers up wonderfully pure, vibrant aromas of black cherries and raspberries, as well as minerals and spicy new oak. In the mouth, richness and mouth-searing tannins culminate in an intense, even dazzlingly long finish. It is a knock-out! Anticipated maturity: 2000-2020.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
One of the reference point vintages for this northern Médoc estate, the 1990 Sociando-Mallet offers up a boisterous bouquet of cassis, pencil shavings, loamy soil, smoke and spices. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and fleshy, it's beautifully balanced, with a generous core of fruit, melted tannins and lively acids. It would embarrass any number of classified growths in this vintage—as is so often the case!
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
The 1990 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc picked between September 13 and October 2. It offers wonderful scents of red berry fruit, potpourri, lavender, and a touch of rooibos and garrigue, all very well defined and gaining intensity in the glass. The medium-bodied palate shows good depth and harmony, and the acidity is very well judged. This is a spicier-styled Sociando-Mallet with a healthy dose of black pepper, sage and curry leaf, while the finish is structured and offers very good length. This always had a good reputation and I understand why. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
About the Producer
Château Sociando-Mallet is located in the Haut-Medoc, a region rich in Cru Bourgeois, but it is not precisely a Cru Bourgeois, not because it is not qualified, but because the owners felt that its excellence did not need to be judged by outsiders. The Château did not take part in either the 1855 Grand Cru de Médoc or the 1932 Cru Bourgeois. But with the quality of its wines, Château Marly has a real chance of winning the Cru Bourgeois! The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented in large concrete vats, clarified with egg white and placed in oak barrels. The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented in large concrete vats, clarified with egg white and aged in oak barrels to absorb the oak and soften the tannins. The Chateau Sociando-Mallet is aged for three months in oak barrels, with 100% new oak. The secondary wine of Château Sociando-Mallet is "LaDemoiselle de Sociando-Mallet". Thanks to Jean Gautreau's meticulous winemaking and good management, Château Mallet is fast becoming a class apart from the Cru Bourgeois and even the Grand Cru. The wines have a good structure and firm tannins, with a long finish, a characteristic that is usually found only at the Grand Cru level and above, but Château Marly is so capable that it has been described as "one of the highest quality AOCs in the entire Médoc". In the better vintages of Château Marly, Robert Parker gave it a score of 90 points, commenting: "A classic nose with a mix of cassis, graphite, ore and earth, a medium depth of body, a concentrated structure and, as always, outstanding quality, Château Marly always produces long-lived wines capable of ageing for 20-30 years. Great wines."
1982(1)1983(1)1985(2)
Package Size
1 x 1.5L12 x 75cl
