1990 Château Sociando-Mallet
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Tasting notes
Now at over 30 years after the vintage, the 1990 Château Sociando-Mallet delivers everything you could want from a mature, impeccably made, classic Haut-Médoc. From vines just north of Saint-Estèphe, it has a regal profile with ripe dark fruits, leafy tobacco, iron, damp earth, and saddle leather nuances. These carry to a medium-bodied, elegant wine revealing resolved tannins, a focused, silky, lively mouthfeel, and a great finish. With very little bricking yet certainly a lighter rim, it's unquestionably fully mature, and I don't see any upside to holding bottles, but I have no doubt it will have a gradual evolution going forward for at least another decade. You could put this in a blind tasting with some top Grand Cru Classé and it would do more than fine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 1990 Sociando-Mallet is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc picked between September 13 and October 2. It offers wonderful scents of red berry fruit, potpourri, lavender, and a touch of rooibos and garrigue, all very well defined and gaining intensity in the glass. The medium-bodied palate shows good depth and harmony, and the acidity is very well judged. This is a spicier-styled Sociando-Mallet with a healthy dose of black pepper, sage and curry leaf, while the finish is structured and offers very good length. This always had a good reputation and I understand why. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
Ruby red to the rim. Vibrant, slightly high-toned aromas of mulberries, licorice, and spice, with a faint note of leather that contributes to its complexity. Very ripe and concentrated; quite dense but the velvety texture is already inviting. Finishes very long, with ripe tannins. The best young Sociando we've yet tasted; for this cru bourgeois, quite stylish.