Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 1996
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 1996 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc picked between September 23 and October 8. This was aged 100% in new oak barrels for 12 months, followed by six months in tank. It has a generous, slightly chocolaty nose that I noticed before I realized that this vintage was matured entirely in new oak. I think the élevage rather dominates the aromatics, unlike the 1995, where it feels more integrated. The cohesive palate is medium-bodied with fine definition and perhaps offers a little more depth than the 1995. The finish is nicely sustained and leaves cracked black pepper and tobacco on the aftertaste. Very fine. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Dark purple-ruby. Roasted nose combines blackberry, espresso and licorice. Large-scaled, mouthfilling and impressively deep; boasts terrific intensity and sweetness. Very long, ripely tannic finish. The estate has high hopes for its '98, but it hard to believe it will surpass this wine.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Showing fabulously at the turn of the millennium where it displayed great depth and concentration. A more muted response when last tasted blind at Farr's horizontal. Much fresher on the nose with good fruit concentration. Blackberry, cedar, burnt toast, quite complex and well-defined. The palate is quite sweet with bitter cherry, raspberry and strawberry. Moderate tannins with a fleshy finish. Not bad at all. Tasted September 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
An impressive cru bourgeois, Sociando-Mallet's opaque purple-colored 1996 displays a tight but nicely scented nose of minerals, licorice, cassis, and high quality vanillin from new oak barrels. In the mouth, the wine is dense and full-bodied, with a boat-load of tannin, as well as gobs of extract, glycerin, and depth. This example will age at a glacial pace. However, it is unquestionably of high quality, and the requisite fruit and depth are present to balance out the wine's structural components. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2022.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
For now, Sociando-Mallet's 1996 does not seem to possess the flesh and sweet mid-palate of the 1995. The wine possesses a saturated dark ruby/purple color, copious amounts of toasty new oak in the nose, pure, ripe, cedary, blackcurrant fruit, medium body, and aggressive Cabernet Sauvignon-based tannin in the finish. It will require 5-7 years of cellaring, and should age well for two decades. However, this is not in the same league as such super examples of Sociando-Mallet as 1990, 1986, and 1982.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A classic Sociando-Mallet, this wine boasts a saturated purple color, as well as an intense nose of cassis liqueur, chocolate, and minerals. Dense and medium-bodied, with outstanding purity, and high tannin, this beautifully made wine is better than many classified growths. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020.
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)1990(3)
Package Size
1 x 75cl
