Wine Advisor
Sociando Mallet 2021
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Offering up aromas of dark berries, licorice, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, the 2021 Sociando-Mallet is medium to full-bodied, bright and concentrated, with an impressively layered core of fruit, tangy acids and a long, saline finish. The blend is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc, with late-harvested Cabernet Sauvignon, picked through to October 14, providing the heart of the wine.
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2021 Sociando-Mallet has turned out nicely in bottle, offering up aromas of dark berries and cassis mingled with hints of cigar wrapper and pencil lead. It is medium to full-bodied, fleshy and seamless, with impressive concentration for the vintage, sweet tannins, integrated acids and a penetrating finish.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2021 Sociando Mallet is a powerful, classically austere Haut-Médoc that is going to need a number of years to unwind. There's good depth and plenty of intensity, but the 2021 is in no mood to show its cards today. A dark, beguiling beauty, Sociando will have a lot to say at some point.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A solid red as always, with a medium body. Blackcurrants, dark earth, black mushrooms and some bark. Chewy yet polished tannins.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Mocha, terra-cotta, graphite and black fruit on the nose. Sleek and firm, nicely compact and focused, with a medium body and polished, very fine tannins. Lovely balance and length. Drink from 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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