Château Sociando-Mallet – Haut-Médoc 2017 (750ml)

93 points James Suckling

The history of the Château Sociando-Mallet dates back to the discovery of a document from March 1633 referring to noble lands in the municipality of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, belonging to a family of Basque origin called Sossiondo. There is also a document of 1750, relating to the vines of the Demoiselle Anne de Sossiondo. Over the years, “Sociondo” (or “Sossiondo”) has become “Sociando” as a result of a spelling error.

Since the 17th century, Sociando Mallet occupies the hill of Baleyron, one of the most beautiful terroirs of the Medoc. The terroir of the estate, consisting of 110 hectares including 85Ha of vineyards, is made of gravel on a deep clay-limestone subsoil. It allows Cabernet Sauvignon (48%) to mature in excellent conditions and Merlot (47%) to acquire depth and complexity; the rest of the grape variety is supplemented by 5% Cabernet Franc. The vines are aged on average 30 years, and the maintenance of the soil is done in a traditional way. Only the essential treatments against the diseases are carried out, in order to preserve the quantity and the quality of the harvest.

All the vineyards are harvested by hand and in crates by a team of 120 pickers. The parcellation allows to select the pieces of vine that will give the Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet and those who will give the great wine. The bunches arriving at the winery are sorted by hand on a treadmill. Vinification is done in a traditional way. The Château Sociando-Mallet has stainless steel vats and concrete vats, all thermo-regulated. The aging is done in entirely new French oak barrels and for about 12 months. After a total aging of 18 months, the wine is bottled at the Château.