Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2008
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Performing far better from bottle than it did from cask, the full-bodied 2008 offers abundant notes of plums, blueberries and black raspberries interwoven with hints of white flowers, damp earth and background oak. This impressively endowed, muscular effort will benefit from 2-4 years of cellaring and should keep for two decades.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
An opaque deep ruby/purple color is followed by a seemingly still austere and angular wine with high tannin. It is another example of a 2008 that either finished malolactic very late, or is still going through it. An unfinished character suggests there is more to this wine, but it needs to flesh out and reveal more fruit depth. At present, it is somewhat of a gamble given its high tannic profile, but the concentration is there.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Bottled in May cropped at 45hl/ha. The nose is rather closed at first and the fruit seems to be a little subdued by the oak at the moment. Blackberry, freshly tilled soil, vanilla and just a touch of sandalwood. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, chalky tannins, very good acidity, slightly pinched at the moment but should be rectified with time. Tannic, slightly brusque, quite foursquare towards the finish. Fine grip, but it will need 4-5 years cellaring to reach its drinking plateau. Having said that, it needs to flesh out and become less austere. Drink 2012-2020. Tasted October 2010
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
En primeur barrel sample. This is a little introverted on the nose at first (although it is following the La Tour Carnet!) Blackberry, dark cherry and a touch of plum. Nice definition. With time in the glass there is a touch of marmalade coming forth. The palate is medium-bodied, a little austere on the entry but builds nicely on the palate. Black fruits, a touch of cedar and graphite with a lean but focused finish. Fine, but it needs time and it is rather foursquare overall. Tasted March 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2008 Sociando-Mallet has a ripe, candied bouquet of lavish black cherry and boysenberry fruit, lacking a little definition but still attractive in a slightly obvious way. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent red berry fruit and a little saline in style. The sappy, slightly smudged finish needs to muster more delineation and focus. This might improve in bottle, so don’t be afraid to wait another couple of years. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 10-Year On tasting.
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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