Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2019
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Notes of minty cassis, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, deftly framed by toasty new oak, introduce the 2019 Sociando-Mallet, a medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated wine that’s incipiently complex and elegantly muscular in profile. The style of the vintage has lent this more youthful polish than is sometimes the case, and it will offer a broad drinking window.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2019 Sociando Mallet is elegant, nuanced and understated. Sweet red cherry, plum, mocha, spice, leather, tobacco, incense and dried flowers all open nicely. The purity of the fruit is just lovely. In 2019, Sociando is classy and polished. It is also an understated wine that needs time to show its full potential, which is considerable.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2019 Sociando Mallet has more presence on the nose than the Le Boscq; the fruit is darker and bolder. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, plenty of blackcurrant and raspberry fruit laced with cedar and black pepper. Solid, if missing a little elegance on the finish. Give it a couple of years and it will steadily climb back to its appraisal after bottling. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2019 Sociando-Mallet has gained composure since I tasted the barrel sample. Now it has engaging red and black fruit, cedar and freshly rolled tobacco scents, focused and quite vigorous. The palate is structured, with firm grip, very well-judged acidity, good substance and a cohesive, black-pepper- and pencil-lead-tinged finish that has real length. Top-drawer Sociando-Mallet.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2019 Sociando-Mallet has a lovely bouquet with vivacious raspberry, wild strawberry and rose petal scents, touches of undergrowth coming through with time, one of the most elegant noses from this property in recent years. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit, crushed stone and a discrete pinch of white pepper, focused and full of energy on the finish. What a superb Sociando-Mallet.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2019 Sociando Mallet has more presence on the nose than the Le Boscq; the fruit is darker and bolder. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, plenty of blackcurrant and raspberry fruit laced with cedar and black pepper. Solid, if missing a little elegance on the finish. Give it a couple of years and it will steadily climb back to its appraisal after bottling. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A juicy, flavorful red with blackberry and blueberry character. Some dark chocolate and walnuts, too. It’s full-bodied and layered with hazelnut and spice undertones. Velvety and poised.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Redcurrants with sweet tobacco, hazelnut, mint and moist earth, following through to a medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins and a palate that grows at the finish. Needs a minimum of three or four years to come around. Try 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 6L
