CHÂTEAU SOCIANDO MALLET
2013 Cru Bourgeois Haut Médoc Château Sociando-Mallet
Soft for a wine that is often quite extracted, rich and very ageworthy, the 2013 is a much more friendly prospect for drinking at an early age – over the next 7-8 years. Deep ruby/purple with cassis and blueberry fruit, a hint of wet rocks, soft tannins and moderate body, this is not by any means a very concentrated wine, but it is well-made and pure without any astringent tannin or vegetal characteristics. 2014-2022 Rating: 86-88 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Aug 2014)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Good deep ruby-red. Enticing nose combines red cherry, smoke, meat and tobacco. Less dense than usual but vibrant, offering a nice combination of sweet, energetic herbal red berry and oak flavors. Finishes with firm, mounting tannins and a lingering green note that really detracts from its charm. This struck me as a little disappointing even for the vintage given the talented team at Sociando-Mallet; I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for the time being but am a little uneasy about the strong green notes. Rating: 86-88 Ian d'Agata - Stephen Tanzer website (May 2014)
Rich and ripe fruited on the nose the start of the palate has good depth and some sweet mainly black fruits. Although the mid palate is tight black fruits at the back give more depth with richness and sweetness on the finish. 2017-27 Rating: 87-91 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (May 2014)
Rating: 85 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (May 2014)
Oak and power are evident here and there is some grip and dryness on the finish, but it is all in balance. Sturdy and dusty but with decent impact this is a characteristically well made wine and I trust that it will be good value on release. Not an investment in financial terms, but a good bet for your own cellar for classic Sunday lunch drinking. Rating: 16.5+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2014)
Dense colour, polished fruit and very good depth. Elegance and classic grip on the finish. Drink: 2017-2028. Rating: 16.75 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2014)
Offering a core of blueberry and blackberry fruit, this isn't shy with its toast as a roasted vanilla edge holds sway on the finish. Yet there’s a juicy edge and some solid flesh for the vintage. Rating: 87–90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2014)
Bright and fruity with blueberry and cream character. Medium body with fine tannins and an attractive finish. Sociando performs outstandingly in difficult years. Rating: 90-91 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2014)
Château Sociando Mallet
The first village as you travel north out of Saint Estèphe is Saint-Suerin-de-Cadourne, home to a small cluster of cru bourgeois, not the least of which is Château Sociando-Mallet commanding fine views over the River Gironde to the east of the village. In the early 17th Century it was the estate of a Basque family called Sossiondo, the other half of the name coming from naval captain Achille Mallet who married the owner in 1831. As with many Bordeaux estates, the late 19th and early 20th Centuries were not kind to Sociando-Mallet, so when local merchant Jean Gautreau happened upon it in 1969 it was in a sorry estate. Realising the potential, Jean bought the estate and owns it to this day. With only 5ha under vine, no cellar and the buildings in decay he had a lot to do. Vineyards were replanted, and plots were purchased from neighbours – today Sociando-Mallet, on various plots around the village spreads to 85ha – and the château and winery were refurbished and restored. The amount of Merlot in the blend has slowly risen over the years and now accounts for 47% of the vineyard alongside 48% Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Cabernet Franc; average vine age about 30 years. The wines of Sociando-Mallet were once relatively under-priced but demand for the wine has risen as more people have come to know it, although being from outside the famous Haut-Médoc villages and the 1855 classification keeps the price under some control. Quite robust wines.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.