SOCIANDO MALLET 2020

Every bit as good as the 2019, although in a slightly more concentrated, burly style, the 2020 Château Sociando-Mallet is close to an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a splash of Cabernet Franc, all from vines located just north of Saint-Estèphe. It brings lots of ripeness and richness, with darker currants, plums, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and graphite-like aromatics that build nicely with time in the glass. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Haut-Médoc revealing a deep, layered mid-palate, ripe, sweet tannins, plenty of concentration, and a great finish. Where the 2019 is silky and elegant, this is more in your face and foursquare, and it's mostly potential at this stage, although it clearly offers pleasure even today with its wealth of fruit. It's going to hit maturity around a decade after the vintage and, I suspect, will keep for 2-3 decades.

The 2020 Sociando-Mallet shows more new oak on the nose than its peers, though there is sufficient brambly red fruit to soak that up. The palate is medium-bodied, fresh and well-delineated with bitter cherry and a splash of balsamic. It's granular in texture with satisfying length and a side order of classicism. Give this a couple of years in bottle. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

This has a pretty nose with dark spices, nut shell and cedar notes with a dark fruit backbone, following through to a medium body with firm and finely polished tannins that go on and on. Refined and nicely balanced with velvety texture. Lingering and chalky finish. Try after 2026.

The 2020 Sociando-Mallet is very attractive, exhibiting aromas of cassis and plums mingled with notions of pencil shavings, loamy soil, tobacco leaf and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with lively acids and powdery tannins, it's a strong effort from a site that always does well in warm vintages. The 2020 is a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Cabernet Franc.