Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2014
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Château Sociando-Mallet 2014 has an outstanding nose: very intense blackberry and raspberry fruit, fine delineation and tension, a real humdinger! The palate is fresh and vibrant with fine tannin, plenty of grainy red berry fruit mixed with cedar and bay leaf, with great conviction on the finish. This is a great Sociando Mallet from Jean Gartreau - expect it to land at the top of that banded score.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2014 Sociando-Mallet put in a great performance in barrel. Now in bottle, the sophistication is evident on the nose with beautifully defined black fruit tinged with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, supple tannin, a silver bead of acidity and superb focus towards the finish. The energy here is superb and it tempts you back immediately for another sip. Probably a Sociano-Mallet that will drink young, yet there is the class to suggest it will age supremely well.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Already on the nose there’s another level of complexity and sophistication to the other wines from this appellation. Although it starts quite discreetly on the palate, it expands as fast as the universe did just after the Big Bang until the multidimensional finish almost overwhelms you! Best in years. Better in 2020.
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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