Sociando-Mallet - Haut-Médoc 2021
The signature of the Gautreau familyDefinitely one of the major brands in Bordeaux. Since the 60’s, Jean Gautreau, one of the key figures of Bordeaux viticulture, has embodied the property. A man of multiple careers, whose success was built on a series of visions he pretended were just common sense, Jean Gautreau was the true creator of Sociando Mallet as we know it today : a profound and authentic wine, with a sense of pride. Across 50 years, he meticulously added to the initial vineyard with the very best of adjacent terroirs.
Unclassifiable and yet at the top, Sociando is unique. Its wines resemble their creator : rooted, open, proud, emotional, vibrant, touching.
Jean Gautreau passed away in 2019. Sylvie, his daughter now presides over the destiny of Sociando.
The 82-hectare vineyard is located on a beautiful terroir, made of gravel slopes and hillsides. From the top, looking out to the south, you can see some other hills of the same type: the best places in Saint-Estèphe, Le Boscq, Calon Ségur, Tronquoy Lalande, Meyney, Montrose.
The 2021, a forgotten freshnessThe top terroirs come up trumps in a cool, fresh vintage. We shall remember the cool weather through the 2021 summer and the resulting freshness in our wines, the likes of which we had somewhat forgotten with the three previous solar vintages.
This weather pattern also marked the return of a more moderate concentration in sugar along with higher acidity levels (particularly malic), a familiar balance that has always made the reputation of Bordeaux, but that we had almost forgotten with recent vintages.
At the end, this 2021 vintage is revealing itself to be an elegant wine, perhaps less expressive at this stage of ageing, but displaying a beautiful balance and great freshness, both in the aromas on the nose and the structure in the palate. We have before us a real, classic Bordeaux !