Château Sociando-Mallet - (France)

Château Sociando-Mallet logo

Sociando-Mallet was already founded in 1633 but it was in 1969 that it was purchased in its current situation by Jean Gautreau. He carried out drastic modernisations, expanded the vineyards and prepared the estate for the 21st century. Unfortunately, he died in 2019 at the age of 92 and the domain is now run by his daughter and her son. The vineyards are located north of the appellation of Saint-Estèphe. Due to its fairly northerly location in the Médoc, it is usually at its best in warmer vintages and is therefore characterized by a fairly elegant style. It is also one of the few Chateaus where nature is allowed to go its own way and so no green harvesting or yield reduction is done. This also gives it its rustic and slightly green character, which means that the wines usually need a little more time than with other Médoc's and have a rather 'own' audience.

Fruitig Kwestie van Smaak
picture of La Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet
The "demoiselle" is a sort of dragonfly found in the Médoc. Like the dragonfly, this wine of the same name is light and elegant. Tight and linear with berry and citrus character. Black fruits are joined by a cooling freshness, a medium body and a clean finish. Pretty second wine from Sociando. Good value with some lovely crunchy fruit. Award: 90/100 by James Suckling