Sociando Mallet derives its name from two previous owners. A nobleman known as Sociando owned the property back in the 1600s. The second part of the estate’s name comes from a naval captain who owned the estate by the name of Mallet. It was Mallet who combined the two names to form Sociando Mallet. When Jean Gautreau purchased Sociando Mallet in 1969, the property had fallen into disrepair in both the wine making facilities as well as the vineyards. Gautreau quickly expanded and replanted the vineyards and remodeled the wine making facilities creating a state-of-the-art production facility. From a “wine geek’s” standpoint the most interesting point for me was that Sociando Mallet does not green harvest, as most Bordeaux estates do. He has some of the highest yields in the entire region. Jean Gautreau prefers to allow nature to decide. Those high yields at Sociando Mallet are part of what gives the wine its rustic and green characteristics, I suppose, as well as its charm.
On this occasion I picked up the 2003 vintage, pairing it with one of my son’s favorites, slow cooked ribs with my favorite homemade BBQ sauce. Truly an exceptional vintage for Sociando Mallet. Robert Parker stated, “This is a wine that is consistently of classified-growth quality and also one of the longest lived wines made in the Medoc.”
The 2003 vintaged presented firm and fully resolved tannic structure that gave it a certain elegance although it did retain those rustic characteristics that I so enjoyed with my ribs. Lovely concentration, blackberry notes that lifted from the glass after I decanted it for about an hour. Violets, crème de casis, and an herbaceous quality that identifies it as nothing but Sociando Mallet. Drinking at its peak in my opinion although many believe it has plenty of time to evolve further. The best part is it still remains quite affordable in the grand scheme at only $69.99 / btl. Bravo!!! I’ll be scooping some up to see how she does in the future, I suggest you do the same. 94 points.