ch. sociando-mallet bordeaux 1993

The Sociando-Mallet vineyard and chateau sits right on the Gironde river, in St.-Seurin de Cadourne, basically just north of the well known town of St Estephe. The vineyard is planted on a gravel croupe that slopes from the estate. Bottled at the chateau in Haut-Medoc, this Bordeaux showed excellence from start to finish.

It's such a treat for me to drink an older bottle now and then. It's not often I drink a wine made before 2000 since my budget doesn't really accommodate older wine and my small collection is still relatively young. To keep it short, this is the best bottle of wine I've had in a long time, at least since I was tasting Burgundy from the barrel in France this summer (I will eventually get to that hefty post). This wine is made from 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc, all which get their time in French oak after maceration. It's then bottled unfiltered and unfined.


Color: Garnet with thin, browning edges. Beautiful.

Nose: Distinct exciting nose, earthy with mushrooms and moss over a bed of blueberry fruit.

Taste: The wine offers loads of character and is very approachable with low acidity. Rich with spicy but tasty fruit, the texture and round tannins are pleasurable from the front to the back of the palate. Very enjoyable with blueberry and red fruit abounding though the earthy notes are layered and pronounced. This is an excellent value for Bordeaux and drinking beautifully right now. I'm going to try to buy another bottle from Dodd's, my local store with good French selections, as soon as I can.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: I think I paid about $34 but you can find this at auctions for over $100. Maybe I ought to buy more than one from now on.