1990 Sociando Mallet

Now at over 30 years after the vintage, the 1990 Château Sociando-Mallet delivers everything you could want from a mature, impeccably made, classic Haut-Médoc. From vines just north of Saint-Estèphe, it has a regal profile with ripe dark fruits, leafy tobacco, iron, damp earth, and saddle leather nuances. These carry to a medium-bodied, elegant wine revealing resolved tannins, a focused, silky, lively mouthfeel, and a great finish. With very little bricking yet certainly a lighter rim, it's unquestionably fully mature, and I don't see any upside to holding bottles, but I have no doubt it will have a gradual evolution going forward for at least another decade. You could put this in a blind tasting with some top Grand Cru Classé and it would do more than fine.

Clean and sleek. Polished tannins and very refreshing though without enormous hidden depths. Quite straightforward. But brisk and fun. (JR)

One of the reference point vintages for this northern Médoc estate, the 1990 Sociando-Mallet offers up a boisterous bouquet of cassis, pencil shavings, loamy soil, smoke and spices. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and fleshy, it's beautifully balanced, with a generous core of fruit, melted tannins and lively acids. It would embarrass any number of classified growths in this vintage—as is so often the case!