Chateau Sociando-Mallet Haut-Medoc 2009

Wine Advocate 90 points - This uncompromising property has turned out a backward, forbiddingly tannic wine that, even in this very opulent and flamboyant vintage, will need a minimum of 10-15 years of cellaring yet keep for 40 or more years. Opaque black/purple, with notes of crushed rock, white flowers, graphite, blueberry and cassis, the wine is tight and needs to be coaxed from the glass. It is medium to full-bodied, with an excruciatingly tough-textured finish. Everything is here, and the wine is set for a long life, but it is not the least bit charming and certainly won’t be for at least another decade..Robert Parker, February/2012

Tasting notes: The wines of Sociando-Mallet are characterized by a very deep and dark colour, complex aromas of little red fruits and a well-integrated fine oaky touch. They are by tradition long-keeping wines.The wines are full-bodied, straight and elegant, with a lot of freshness and depth.

Vinification and ageing: Manual harvesting in small crates with sorting of the grapes before de-stemming.

Classical wine making, with native yeasts, in lined concrete and stainless steel vats, temperature-controlled.

Vatting period : 25 to 30 days.

Malolactic fermentation in vats, without addition of lactic bacterium.

Ageing in 100% new oak barrels during 12 months. Total ageing of 18 months.

Racking every 3 months, by the plug.