The 2012 Sociando-Mallet is quite closed on the nose, earthy and slightly ferrous. Here I would like more fruit. The palate is better with soft tannins, fleshy red fruit and lightly spiced with an easygoing and quite approachable finish. Fine. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting.

Once again proprietor Jean Gautreau has hit pay dirt with a beautiful blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Wonderfully sweet, ripe tannins seem to be a rule of thumb from this great terroir just to the north of St.-Estèphe’s Château Montrose. A beautiful deep ruby/purple color, decent acidity, medium to full-bodied mouthfeel and stunning fruit put this wine right in the midst of the best classified crus from the Médoc, yet it has never been classified. Go figure. Softer than I would have suspected (and I’ve been following and buying this wine since the mid-1970s), this wine will still age beautifully for 10-15+ years.