Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2013
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Good deep ruby-red. Enticing nose combines red cherry, smoke, meat and tobacco. Less dense than usual but vibrant, offering a nice combination of sweet, energetic herbal red berry and oak flavors. Finishes with firm, mounting tannins and a lingering green note that really detracts from its charm. This struck me as a little disappointing even for the vintage given the talented team at Sociando-Mallet; I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for the time being but am a little uneasy about the strong green notes.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Soft for a wine that is often quite extracted, rich and very ageworthy, the 2013 is a much more friendly prospect for drinking at an early age – over the next 7-8 years. Deep ruby/purple with cassis and blueberry fruit, a hint of wet rocks, soft tannins and moderate body, this is not by any means a very concentrated wine, but it is well-made and pure without any astringent tannin or vegetal characteristics.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Bright and fruity with blueberry and cream character. Medium body with fine tannins and an attractive finish. Sociando performs outstandingly in difficult years.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A firm and silky Sociando with cocoa and berry aromas and flavors. Medium to full body. Pretty texture. Chewy finish. Needs time to soften but outstanding for the vintage. Drink now.
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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