WTN: 13 vintages of Sociando-Mallet, plus couple other wines

A nice group - old friends and new- met at Sutton Inn last night for a Sociando-Mallet vertical. Restaurant did a nice job- we shared a couple of charcuterie platters, then I had a pea soup with pinenuts and quail egg, onion gnocchi with gruyere, and lamb shank.

2013 Montbourgeau L'Etoile (Jura)
Nutty/sherry nose, interesting but not my thing. C+

Then to the reds

1986 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
A little muted at first, opens up; Sturdy, cassis and a bit of cigarbox. B+

1986 blind wine
I was doing more social engineering than tasting for my guessing. I was thinking JC might have brought Meyney (since Sociando is near St Estephe and similarly priced) but different profile. Green tobacco leaf (petit verdot?) , dark fruits, some earthy notes. JC said Haut Medoc and I got La Lagune B+

1982 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
I’ve liked this a lot in the past, at least this bottle is on downslope though still enjoyable. Leather, cigar smoke, dirt over slightly tired red fruit. B

1988 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
A bit of barnyard on nose, still plenty of tannin, black plum and cassis with some dirt. B/B+

1988 blind wine - structured, coffee and cassis, slightly tacky tannin. Someone (Greg?) got St. Estephe quickly. I think others liked a lot more than I did. 1988 Cos d’Estournel B

1989 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
This was corked, but Ross had brought a backup bottle, and we were glad he did! Redder fruit, mocha, fresh green herbs, long. MY WOTN . A-

1990 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Ripe, round, some tannin but approachable. B+/A-

1995 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
This was clearly flawed., One person thought corked, but I didn’t get TCA, just some OTT VA and oxidative notes. Ramon offered to open a ‘99 backup, but we demurred- too much wine

1996 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Cassis, acids, the most clear green pepper till now but well-integrated, I think I liked more than some B+/A-

2000 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Pretty coiled, cassis, green pepper, I think has potential. B+/B

2004 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Bell pepper out in force here, but also some nice red fruits and ferric notes, some oak. B/B+

I don’t drink much young Bordeaux any more, so with that and palate fatigue notes get sketchy. Take with an extra grain (or teaspoon) of salt.

2009 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Ripe, kirschy, wood. Not my thing. B-/C+

2010 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Also quite ripe, but here there seems to be more balance, with good acids and tannins seeming to be less from the oak. B/B+

2011 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Acids, tannin, some cassis, a little hollow. B/B-

2016 Ch. Sociando-Mallet
Cassis, mocha, big but balanced tannins. This could be really good. B+

Fun night with fun people.


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Pretty consistent showing of the Sociando "green" I see.

I seemed to notice more in the middle of the lineup as compared to the most and least mature.
But doesn't usually bother me (I drink a fair amount of Chinon)

I'm a fan of Sociando-Mallet and have some 95, 96, 98, 01 and 12 in my cellar. My favourite of these is 96 but I like all of the first three vintages. I haven't yet tried the last two. Yes there is some discreet green in these wines of the sort that Salil once described as "noble forestal green" but IMO this is an essential ingredient in left bank Bordeaux, which adds a distinction and elegance which is missing in some "modern" versions and in warmer climate Cab Sauv dominated blends.