Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
It’s hard not to admire the brilliant Jean Gautreau, who has run this great terroir and estate (just to the north of St-Estèphe’s Château Montrose) with meticulous perfection for decades. The 2005 is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. Offering beautifully sweet crème de cassis and blueberries, this is concentrated essence of blue and black fruits, with some underlying minerality, a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, and stunning texture, length and purity. This is superb Sociando Mallet, with surprisingly sweet tannin, which is even more remarkable in this vintage of high and occasionally hard tannins. Give it another 4-5 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 30 years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As one might expect from this exceptional estate that makes 30 plus-year wines, the 2005 is backward and firm with an inky/purple color, and a classic nose of graphite, crushed rocks, creme de cassis, smoke, and pain grille. With good acidity and ripeness, undeniable minerality, medium to full body, and high tannin, this infant will require considerable cellaring. It should age effortlessly for three decades. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2035+.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A limpid purple colour. The nose is quite closed, but reveals a floral, quite elegant character after a while. The palate is cohesive with fine tannins, classic and traditional in style with fresh acidity. A conservative Sociando Mallet with lots of charm. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As one might expect, proprietor Jean Gautreau has produced an uncompromisingly, potentially enormously long-lived 2005 that is as good as most Medoc cru classes. Based on previous vintages, it will undoubtedly require 10-12 years of cellaring. Its saturated blue/purple color is followed by a sumptuous bouquet of blueberries, white flowers, and minerals. Fresh, full-bodied, well-defined, and already revealing plenty of nuances, this intensely concentrated, impeccably pure effort is a classic vin de garde. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030+.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Always one of the most ageworthy and backward wines of Bordeaux, Sociando Mallet could be described as the poor man’s version of Latour or Montrose. Based on the still painfully young bottles of the 1975 and 1982 in my cellar, the 2005 will undoubtedly last for 30-40 years. It exhibits graphite, black currant liqueur, smoke, and toast characteristics, zesty acidity, huge tannins, and equally massive concentration and extract. From a proprietor who consistently transcends his pedigree, it is a beauty of purity and symmetry. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2040.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted single blind at Southwold. This has a very fresh, vibrant nose with good definition: blackberry, tar, scorched earth and a touch of leather. Has a certain lightness of touch on the bouquet. The palate is medium-bodied with fine earthy tannins, backward, nice focus, a slight bitterness and greenness but it only adds freshness and poise. Backward and surly on the finish but good breeding. Superb. Drink 2012-2030. Tasted January 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 19 and October 6. It has a very well defined bouquet of red currant, cranberry and wild strawberry fruit; pressed white flowers emerge later, along with a hint of truffle. The medium-bodied palate shows wonderful definition, good cohesion and a touch of spice and black pepper. The tannins are very fine and focused, and the finish fans out wonderfully. I remember being impressed with this out of barrel, and 13 years later it is seriously fulfilling its potential. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good full medium red-ruby. Complex nose offers black raspberry, licorice, minerals and a whiff of leather. Brooding, ripe and deep, with terrific volume for Sociando. The black raspberry, licorice and dark chocolate flavors are full and rich but remain this side of exotic. In fact, this boasts superb balance even if it's youthfully backward today. Expands impressively on the back half, finishing with big, broad tannins and an impression of real power. Cellarmaster Faure notes that he's enjoying the '98 and '99 today, but that the 2000 and 2001 are currently quite closed. This 2005 is likely to require at least seven or eight years of patience.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Deep red-ruby. Rich, nuanced nose combines sappy raspberry, earth, fresh herbs, red licorice and dark chocolate. Plush, layered and deep, with lovely sweetness and a seamless texture. The utterly suave, sweet tannins dust the front teeth, and the finish boasts superb persistence. This has the concentration, sweetness and depth of texture of some of the better classified growths of the Medoc. A knockout Sociando: this will make a great ringer for blind tastings of 2005s in the decades to come.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(55% cabernet sauvignon and 45% merlot): Good medium ruby. Enticing aromas of raspberry, dark chocolate and sweet oak. Rich, silky and full but not at all heavy; round, fresh and nicely balanced. Very well delineated flavors of black and red fruits offer impressive lift. Finishes with substantial but very fine tannins that reach the front teeth. A moderate 13.1% alcohol, vs. 13.3% for the 2003.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 19 and October 6. It has a very well defined bouquet of red currant, cranberry and wild strawberry fruit; pressed white flowers emerge later, along with a hint of truffle. The medium-bodied palate shows wonderful definition, good cohesion and a touch of spice and black pepper. The tannins are very fine and focused, and the finish fans out wonderfully. I remember being impressed with this out of barrel, and 13 years later it is seriously fulfilling its potential. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This continues to be a firm and structured red with lots of slate, wet-earth and blackcurrant character. Full body, polished, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Give it time. Better after 2021.
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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