2022 Sociando Mallet

The 2022 Sociando-Mallet is a beauty, wafting from the glass with aromas of cassis, plums, pencil shavings, espresso roast, licorice and violets. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's velvety and layered, with powdery tannins and a long, penetrating finish. It's a blend of 63% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. As I wrote en primeur, readers who remember how this estate acquitted itself in years such as 2003 and 1990 will not be surprised by its quality in 2022.

The 2022 Sociando-Mallet presents an intense nose with touches of seaweed infusing the black fruit, though it's not as refined as it was from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and plenty of mocha-tinged black fruit, but it loses some precision on the slightly rustic finish. Hopefully, this will improve with bottle age as this estate usually does.

Heavy on the spice, a ton of concentration, even in a vintage like 2022 with its natural exuberance. They build this wine with an eye on the long term, and even after En Primeur it underlines that character of dark fruits, big tannins, slate scrape, espresso and a natural unfussy confidence. Sylvie Gautreau owner.