Sociando-Mallet 1995 - Haut-Médoc

Sociando-Mallet 1995 - Haut-Medoc

At the origin of Château Sociando-Mallet: a Basque aristocrat in the 17th century, named "Sociondo", in the 18th century, vines belonging to the Demoiselle Anne de "Sossiondo". This information was found in documents, and you will have understood it, over the years the name became "Sociando" following a spelling error.

At the end of the 18th century Sociando was seized and then sold, until it came into the hands of Marie-Elisabeth Alaret in 1831, married Achille Mallet, sea captain. According to the custom of the time, it was appropriate to add his name to the domain, and thus was born "Sociando-Mallet" that you know today. The family will remain the owner until 1878. The estate passed through the hands of several merchants, including Delor, before becoming the property of Jean Gautreau since 1969. It is his daughter who has since taken up the torch.

The great wine of the domain, of the same name, is full-bodied, with a dark and deep color. They deserve to age in the cellar for several years to reveal their full potential and develop harmony and complexity. The greatest vintages will last 30 years without any problem!

The 1995 vintage was appreciated by many famous tasters, rated 90/100 by RP, 16/20 by J. Robinson and 18/20 by Bettane and Desseauve.

Sociando-Mallet 1995 October 2023 tasting by the team WUAT:

Superb deep ruby color, very dense. The first nose is discreet, it offers notes of cherry jam and dry herbs. The mouth is quite unstructured; acidity, tannins, everything jostles. This wine takes time to awaken, one or two hours in the carafe will do it good!

Later, the decision to wait was the right one. This Sociando still seems young, the attack is soft and round without being jammy, the tannins are there and perfectly integrated. We find aromas of blackberry and kirsched cherry. On the nose, the notes of Provence grass and hay stand out. It certainly does not offer the aromatic palette of a Grand Cru Classé but remains impeccable in terms of texture and balance.

A pleasure bottle, to be opened at least two hours before tasting which could surprise in blind tasting.

Exceptional provenance in  OWC: These bottles come from a cellar of a great Swiss enthusiast and collector. We have acquired the complete collection containing more than 200 bottles of mainly French and Italian wines. The bottles were all preserved following their purchase en primeur or shortly after their marketing on site, in a natural cellar buried under a 16th century convent. A damp cellar, which is why some labels are very worn. The levels are generally excellent or perfect and the most "fragile" bottles demonstrate storage in total darkness for more than 30 years!