Redcurrants with sweet tobacco, hazelnut, mint and moist earth, following through to a medium to full body, ultra-fine tannins and a palate that grows at the finish. Needs a minimum of three or four years to come around. Try after 2025.
95 points, James Suckling (Jan 2022)
Nuanced, concentrated, still very much in primary phase but full of Sociando character, back into the heart of what this estate can deliver. It will clearly age for decades, and it is gorgeous, laced through with cassis, black chcocolate, pomegranate, graphite, balanced and juicy. Harvest September 18 to October 11, 90% new oak, 12 months in barrel then 6 months in vat, 77ha in production. 43hl/h yield. A tribute to Jean Gautreau on the label (you'll find the words Hommage à Jean Gautreau), as he died aged 82 in October 2019. Consultant oenologist Michel-Bernard Couasnon.
95 points, Jane Anson (Jun 2024)
Some savoury elements on the nose, olive and black tapenade. Excellent concentration on the palate, less fruit forward at this point than the Demoiselle second wine, but excellent tension and power – really taut, all in line, straight, driven. A lot going on aromatically – cinnamon, cigar box, cedar, smoke and dark chocolate – really super-complex, with tannins that are smooth but present and a minty finish. Layered and precise, you can feel the sculpting of the fruits and the well-handled oak and extraction. Excellent.
95 points, Georgina Hindle, Decanter (Jan 2022)
One of the best Haut-Médocs out there, and a wine that competes with any number of classified growths, the 2019 Château Sociando-Mallet is ruby/plum-hued and has a great nose of ripe red and black currants, spice, smoked tobacco, and loamy earth. It shows the more expressive, open, seamless style of the 2019 vintage and is medium to full-bodied, has beautifully polished tannins, and just about perfect balance. Smart readers will buy a case (or more) of this beauty, and it will have an incredibly broad drink window, with 30-35 years of overall longevity.
94 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Mar 2023)
The 2019 Sociando-Mallet has gained composure since I tasted the barrel sample. Now it has engaging red and black fruit, cedar and freshly rolled tobacco scents, focused and quite vigorous. The palate is structured, with firm grip, very well-judged acidity, good substance and a cohesive, black-pepper- and pencil-lead-tinged finish that has real length. Top-drawer Sociando-Mallet.
94 points, Neal Martin, Vinous (Feb 2022)
Notes of minty cassis, cigar wrapper and loamy soil, deftly framed by toasty new oak, introduce the 2019 Sociando-Mallet, a medium to full-bodied, rich and concentrated wine that’s incipiently complex and elegantly muscular in profile. The style of the vintage has lent this more youthful polish than is sometimes the case, and it will offer a broad drinking window.
93 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Apr 2022)
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