Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Sociando Mallet is magnificent. Deep, powerful and resonant, the 2018 has so much to offer. Black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, gravel, cloves, licorice menthol and chocolate meld together in a wine of real distinction. There is a real sense of density and textural resonance that makes the 2018 compelling. Stated simply, the 2018 Sociando is magnificent. Don't miss it. Tasted three times.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Sociando Mallet, which comes wrapped in a resplendent 50th-anniversary label to celebrate the late Jean Gautreau’s acquisition of the estate, takes some time to really coalesce on the nose, eventually revealing boysenberry and mulberry scents and cedar and light earthy aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins that belie the concentration of this Sociando-Mallet. Very cohesive, it delivers plenty of red fruit mixed with <em>sous-bois</em> and tobacco, though there is just a little more dryness on the finish than I was expecting. Give it 3–5 years in bottle if you can.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Sociando Mallet delivers a convincing bouquet of blackberry, boysenberry, cedar and light earthy/terra-cotta aromas and nicely integrated oak. The palate is svelte on the entry, offering very good acidity, layered red berry fruit laced with cassis and crushed stone, and an atypically plush, sensual finish. This might well be the best Sociando Mallet I have encountered at this stage, and it will age with style and grace. Chapeau, Jean and Sylvie Gautreau! Highly recommended.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Sociando-Mallet has a nose of baked fruits, stewed plums, earth and herbs with a waft of menthol. The palate is full-bodied, firm, hard and chewy with an herbal, hot finish.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
There is fantastic purity of black fruit with blackberries and ripe raspberries. Floral and bright. Full-bodied, compact palate with super polished tannins. Really fantastic.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
I like the blueberry, chocolate, blackcurrant and dark chocolate. Some tar and crushed lead pencil, too. Full body and firm, creamy tannins with a lovely texture and roundness. Extremely well polished and exciting. One of the best Sociandos in a long time. Best after 2025.
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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Package Size
1 x 3L
