WTNs: Sociando-Mallet, Pascal Cotat, Valduero

1996 Ch. Sociando-Mallet, Haut-Medoc
Dense black plum with the hint of garnet at the rim. Leather, herb, cigar on the nose. This once austere wine might just have started to peek out of its once backward stage. High acidity, blackberries, and that so-called SM vegetal taste that’s oh-so slight and complementary in this medium-bodied wine. Good level of sweetness. Have had this many a times before, but this bottle is easily one of my better ones. A-

2002 Valduero Reserva Premium 6 Anos Botella No. 03696, Ribera del Duero
I was hoping to save this bottle for much later drinking, but I was prompted to open this as it was purchased last month at the same Duty Free shop in Madrid with a couple of Protos GR that I drank and appeared to have had storage issues. I have not heard of this producer before, but I was in a rush and bought anyway since I wanted to as take home an un-tried bottle from RdD. According to the winery’s website, the Reserva Premium contains grapes from their oldest Tinto Fino vines and is aged with more time in barrels than the Reserva. It was to be a pop-and-pour, but after the first sip of harsh mouth-coating tannin, I quickly poured into a decanter. The wine’s color was black, dense and inky. The nose was predominantly oak and some ripe black fruit. I was glad to be having a fatty steak with it, because without the grilled rib-eye it would probably taste like sucking on a piece of wood. With a intense swirling of the decanter and glass, some black fruit and specks of white pepper emerged. Marina liked it. B-.
At about 2-hour mark, I revisited and the wine greatly improved with some blue and black berries and complementary bursts of acidity. Like night-and-day. Now I wish I had also bought and stored bottles 03697 and 03698. B+

2007 Pascal Cotat La Grande Cote Sancerre
I don’t drink much wine from this region, but this producer (and the other guy, Francois) are the ones that I tend to gravitate to when I need a good reasonable Sancerre to fall back on. The 2007 La Grande Cote didn’t disappoint. Pale straw in color, there were hints of melon, pineapple, flowers in this aromatic wine. Dry and with mineral notes, citrus with some tropical fruit, medium-bodied and good length. In short, well-crafted and a delicious Sauvignon Blanc. A-

Thanks for the note on the 96 SM. I purchased a case of that upon release for my granddaughter's eventual wedding. She was maybe 6 at the time, and is now 17, and try as I might, she does not like the taste, or even the idea, of wine. So, I guess I have just reclaimed eleven bottles of this stuff. A friend I told about this wine bought six at the same time I did, and consumed his last about three weeks ago, claiming it was finally drinking really well. Looking forward to trying one. Hmmm. Might make a good MoCOOL contribution.

Good to know that some '96s are starting to come around. And Sociando is usually a late bloomer. I had it a few months back and the bottle I tried sounded a bit less developed than yours. I've had several 96 BDX in the past year and each of them felt like they were just tapping on the outside of their drinking window (as I define it). The GPL seemed closest, although your results may vary.

Thanks for the note on the 96 SM. I purchased a case of that upon release for my granddaughter's eventual wedding. She was maybe 6 at the time, and is now 17, and try as I might, she does not like the taste, or even the idea, of wine. So, I guess I have just reclaimed eleven bottles of this stuff. A friend I told about this wine bought six at the same time I did, and consumed his last about three weeks ago, claiming it was finally drinking really well. Looking forward to trying one. Hmmm. Might make a good MoCOOL contribution.

A case of 96 SM bought at release would be a terrific wedding day gift/drink! Your granddaughter should consider herself so lucky. I suppose that the remaining 11 bottles is now your gain. Enjoy them.

Good to know that some '96s are starting to come around. And Sociando is usually a late bloomer. I had it a few months back and the bottle I tried sounded a bit less developed than yours. I've had several 96 BDX in the past year and each of them felt like they were just tapping on the outside of their drinking window (as I define it). The GPL seemed closest, although your results may vary.

Earlier this year, I had a bottle of the 96 SM from this same purcahse lot and it was still tight. This recent bottle is not completely open by any means. However, I think that this bottle has just started to approach its better drinking window, relative to the ones that I previously had ... and I liked it. I have 10 more left to watch it develop and even at this stage, I'm definitely not rushing to drink them.