Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Sociando Mallet 2010 demonstrates quite a lot of extraction on the nose with scents of blackberry, black olive and tobacco, a little sweet cassis emerging with time. The palate has a fleshy, more Merlot-driven entry compared to its peers. There is plenty of weight here whilst the finish shows excellent delineation and focus. Very fine. Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The classic 2010 displays everything one expects from this over-achieving Haut-Medoc. A dense purple color is followed by aromas of blueberries, black currants, graphite and crushed rocks, a layered, full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning concentration and sweet, more polished and refined tannins than are normally found in barrel samples of Sociando Mallet. This cuvee should last for 20-30 years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A very classic wine for patient connoisseurs, Sociando Mallet makes no compromises and continues to produce one of the finest wines among non-classified estates in Haut-Medoc. Dense purple to the rim, the opaque purple-colored 2010 offers up notes of graphite, blueberry and black raspberry fruit, a hint of cassis, some licorice and wet rocks. Deep, full-bodied and almost excruciatingly tannic, this full-throttle, balls-to-the-wall style of wine needs at least 8-10 years of cellaring and should keep for three decades or more.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Sociando-Mallet charges out of the gate with open-knit, maturing scents of baked blackberries, warm cassis and plum preserves followed by notes of sandalwood, cedar chest and pencil shavings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a firm, grippy texture and bold freshness supporting the evolved, slightly drying fruit, finishing a bit chewy.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 24 and October 15. There is initially a touch of reduction, although that soon blows away to reveal attractive blackberry, briar, cigar box and dried herb/scorched earth scents that blossom with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with well-integrated oak, supple tannin, well-judged acidity and a smooth, sensual finish (unusual for this property!) This is a great Sociando-Mallet destined for long-term aging. 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."
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