Chateau Sociando Mallet 2003

Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc. St. Seurin-de-Cadourne

Septembre 2009

Very dark indeed – much more so than most 2003s. Right out to the rim too! Mineral and heady – this smells like one of the most successful wines of this vintage. Succulent and ripe and exotic but not overdone and without a hollow middle. The tannins are a bit dry on the end, which stops it being a top scorer for me, but it’s definitely one of the best 2003s. Flattering and with sufficient freshness – the structure is rather Italian actually! 

17.5/20 Jancis Robinson

Sociando-Mallet is yet another one of those chateaux which exposes the shortcomings of the 1855 classification of Bordeaux. Never entered into the classification of Cru Classé chateaux, and subsequently classified as a Cru Bourgeois in 1932, it consistently turns out wines which outshine those produced by many of its more illustrious neighbours.

Cabernet-Sauvignon 55%, Merlot 40%, plus Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot

Jean Gautreau purchased Sociando Mallet as a somewhat dilapidated property in 1969. The domaine has well placed vineyards, situated on some well-drained, gravelly outcrops on a clay bed, bordering the river. Strict selection, mature vines, long maceration, new oak and no fining or filtration all go towards producing classic, ageworthy and desirable, yet competitively priced, wines.