Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2003
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2003 Sociando-Mallet is drinking brilliantly, wafting from the glass with a deep bouquet of blackberry and cassis mingled with hints of loamy soil, cigar box and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, layered and muscular, with a deep core of fruit, impressively lively acids and ample reserves of rich, powdery tannin, it is one of the real successes of the vintage. It's also one of the most youthful-tasting 2003s you can find today.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This fresh Northern Medoc demonstrates how strong the 2003 vintage can be in this sector of Bordeaux. The tannins have softened considerably, and the wine reveals a youthful dense ruby/purple color. Notes of white flowers, blackberries and black currants are found in this still youthful, medium- to full-bodied, rich wine that is just approaching full maturity. It should provide plenty of pleasure over the next decade.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This has much more typicity on the nose, very Saint Estephe with an attractive earthiness, touches of black tea and green pepper. Good definition and vigour. The full-bodied palate is backward with firm tannins, but well balanced and certainly fully ripe with pure cassis and black cherry fruits. Good length. Impressive. Drink 2010-2020. Tasted January 2007.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Deep opaque colour. A very savory nose, chocolaty, coffee. A little muffled. Full-bodied, very tannic, dense, spicy, huge grip but there is a distinct lack of elegance and finesse. Muscular and again a brutish wine. Touch of greenness on the finish. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A great success for this perennial over-achiever, the 2003 Sociando Mallet may be drinkable at an earlier age than most vintages (which normally need 5-10 years of cellaring). Inky/blue/purple to the rim, it boasts a gorgeous perfume of crushed stones, violets, blueberries, and creme de cassis with no evidence of wood. Concentrated fruit, low acidity, and high but sweet tannin give an overall impression of voluptuousness and fleshiness. Long, persistent, and impressive, it is very much in the style of the 1990, without the over-ripeness of that vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020+.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Sociando-Mallet is the poster child for what cru bourgeois estates can achieve. This is a wine that is consistently of classified-growth quality and also one of the longest lived wines made in the Medoc. An exceptional vintage for Sociando-Mallet, 2003 has produced a spectacularly concentrated, inky blue/purple-colored wine with an extraordinary nose of blackberries, raspberries, some white flowers, and a hint of lead pencil shavings. The wine is powerful, extremely full-bodied, quite tannic, and seriously endowed. This is stunning wine that is rich, layered, and in need of 5-6 years of bottle-age. It should keep for 30+ years. It is certainly a riveting effort for the vintage and, as I wrote last year, probably a modern-day version of a hypothetical blend of a 1970 and a 1982.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr Vintner’s Left Bank tasting. This is a little baked on the nose, but there are some attractive minty scents developing in the glass vying with green pepper for dominance. The palate is a little over-extracted with chewy tannins, lacking much in the way of grace of finesse. Dense and plump on the finish. This will appeal to those who don’t mind little Claret in their Bordeaux. Quite a striking wine. Tasted October 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Reminiscent of a hypothetical blend of the 1982 and 1975, this is an incredibly powerful, amazingly rich offering possessing extraordinary freshness and precision, an inky blue/purple color to the rim, and a stunning nose of crushed rocks, creme de cassis, acacia flowers, and graphite. This full-bodied, powerful effort is crammed with concentration, has elevated tannins, but low acidity, and, I am sure, a relatively high pH. Rich, profoundly concentrated, and serious, this is the kind of stuff that makes a mockery of Bordeaux’s classification system. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2035. One of the cru bourgeois estates that always performs at classified growth quality levels, Sociando Mallet has, for 20 years, been the insider’s choice for top quality wine that will easily withstand two decades of cellaring. Bottles of the 1970, 1975, and 1982 from my cellar are still youthful and evolving!
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."
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