Château Sociando-Mallet 2009

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

An elegant nose with notes of blackcurrant; the palate is clean and precise, balancing fruit and spice. Powerful tannins round out this long finish.

About the estate:

A leading figure in the Médoc, Jean Gautreau is one of the architects of the region’s wine renaissance. Respected by his peers, he has elevated Sociando-Mallet to the status of a classified growth, significantly expanding the vineyard since his purchase in 1969. Today, of the estate’s 85 hectares, some 50 meet the standards of a third- or even second-growth classified wine. Assisted by his daughter, Jean Gautreau is one of the few owners who personally oversees the winemaking process. These are benchmark wines, with an inimitable character and identity. Medoc at their core, they always exhibit great finesse. The estate now features a guesthouse, Villa Sociando, located at the Port de la Maréchale, 3 kilometers from the estate.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

While the terroir of this unquestionably renowned château is excellent, with gravel soils facing the estuary, it would be nothing without the winemaker’s touch. The predominance of Cabernet varieties (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon) ensures the production of a great age-worthy wine every year. This 2009 vintage, with its dark color, is no exception to the rule. Introduced by a rich bouquet blending leather, wild berries, and hints of toast, it reveals an elegant structure, full of roundness and smoothness, which will allow it to be enjoyed starting in 2016–2017.

About the estate:

In the 17th century, it was a noble estate belonging to a Basque family, the Sossiandos. Confiscated during the Revolution, it has had several owners. At the end of the last century, Jean Gautreau recognized its potential. A broker at Miailhe, he founded his own company in the late 1950s to sell wines in the Benelux region. A client asked him to find a property with excellent terroir. He discovered Sociando-Mallet: overlooking the estuary, a superb gravelly hilltop on a clay subsoil. Since the client did not follow through, he bought it for himself in 1969, restructured it, expanded it (originally 5 ha, now 82), and built a winery. Unclassified, it is one of the key estates in the appellation, now run by Sylvie, daughter of Jean Gautreau, who passed away in 2019

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

The velvety texture of this 2009 is remarkable—certainly opulent and rich in style, but very well crafted. A very approachable wine, full of charm, with notes of stewed fruit and spices.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

This impeccable estate has produced a formidably tannic wine here which, even in this very opulent and flamboyant vintage, will require at least 10 to 15 years of cellaring and can be kept for 40 years or more. Opaque, purplish-black in color, with notes of crushed stone, white flowers, graphite, blueberry, and blackcurrant, the wine is tight. It is medium-bodied to full-bodied, and everything is in place for a long life.

About the estate:

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The 2009 vintage retains a lovely fresh fruitiness, with a dense, very ripe body and, once again, plenty of tannic structure.

About the estate:

Sociando-Mallet is a well-known brand that has won the hearts of true wine lovers. Many vintages from this lovely estate in the northern Médoc are on par with top-tier classified growths. Jean Gautreau, who spent half a century building Sociando-Mallet, passed away in late 2019, passing the torch to his daughter Sylvie. Widely available in France and Belgium, the wine remains a safe bet and, above all, offers consistently excellent value for money. A major replanting project was initiated about ten years ago, forcing the estate to produce wines with a higher Merlot content. They possess more roundness, but likely less character. We no longer quite find the magical brilliance of the 1982, 1990, or 1996 vintages, which remain benchmarks.

James Suckling