Château Sociando-Mallet 2015

Château Sociando-Mallet is considered one of the best kept secrets in Bordeaux.  This Crus Bourgeoise property has received endless praise from heavy-hitting wine critics such as Robert Parker who considers this estate to be “equal to many Classified Growths,” and a true hidden gem.  Château Sociando-Mallet has such a devout following in France alone, that bottles of this delightful property are a very special find in the international market.  There is no shortage of attention to detail to the vinification process of the wine at this estate, and the grand vin ages beautifully with time.  A must-know producer for any oenophile in search of a powerful wine that overdelivers on value.
 
Château Sociando-Mallet was founded by a Basque nobleman named Sossiando within the village of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne.  This portion of the Haut Médoc overlooks the Gironde estuary and has some impressive terroir of fine gravel and clay.  As was typical of the time, the estate was named Château Sossiando after its owner, but with time the estate’s name changed to the phonetic spelling of, “Sociando.” The property was confiscated during the turbulent time of the French Revolution and changed hands more than a few times.  Eventually, it was sold to a naval captain named Mallet, and he gave the estate the second portion of its name.  Château Sociando-Mallet experienced more than its fair share of ups and downs, and when it was purchased in 1969 by Jean Gautreau, a self-made négociant, the estate was in complete and utter disrepair.  Jean Gautreau had no experience working as a vigneron or owning any estates.  He earned his fortune as a négociant and an entrepreneur, providing bottling trucks to châteaux within Bordeaux.  At Jean Michel Cazes’ urging, Jean Gautreau took notice of Château Sociando-Mallet and made the decision to purchase the estate for 250,000 francs.
 
Jean Gautreau invested no shortage of funds, time, and meticulous care to revitalizing the estate to its former glory.  When he purchased Château Sociando-Mallet, only 7 hectares were under the vine.  After Jean Gautreau’s extensive work on the property, the estate now stands at an impressive 85-hectares.  Jean Gautreau spent his tenure expanding the vineyard, remodeling the estate, and renovating the winemaking facilities.  He replaced the old, defunct concrete vats with brand new, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to add a purity of fruit and freshness to the grand vin. 
 
The harvest and vinification processes at the vineyards are nothing short of impressive.  This 85-hectare vineyard that hosts plantings of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, is harvested entirely by hand by a team of 120 pickers.  The wine is vinified in a mixture of stainless steel and concrete tanks.  Interestingly enough, only native yeasts are allowed in this process and the wine ferments spontaneously, with minimal intervention on behalf of the winemaking team.  It is then aged in 100% New French Oak barrels – a rarity for Crus Bourgeoise estates – prior to being bottled.  The resulting wine is an incredibly rich, concentrated and long-lived wine, that rivals many Classified Growths.

"The 2015 Sociando Mallet is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc this year. It has a rather introspective bouquet, broody and earthy, although with aeration it reveals pleasant blackberry and wild strawberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, a little rustic and brutish at the moment with an abrasive finish that will hopefully soften by the time it is in bottle. I feel that this was just upended by the storms that swept across the region in September." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (4/27/2016, Issue 224), Rating: 85-87, Drink: 2022 - 2045