The 2000 Sociando Mallet has been uncorked....

[JimHow]

I finally broke down and cracked open my case.
I'm liking the style of this wine, but I can definitely see how this would not be for everyone.
It reveals sour cherry, spice, and cedar, with a penetrating nose. A beautiful bright ruby red.
Most importantly, it is classically styled. Still quite youthful but showing nice development.
Let's see how it holds up to the tenderloin.

[JimHow]

Love this wine. Love it!
So darned vegetal, classic, structured, green, spicy, cedary, aromatic, biting, still youthful, but showing us a lot at age 17.
This is going to be a tough one to keep my hands off of in the years ahead. My goal is to pace myself at one bottle per year for the next 11 years.
A classic JimHow kind of wine. I'm gonna go to to the kitchen counter and check, I'll bet it is 13% or less... Be right back....

HA! 12.5%.
I knew it. I was gonna say 12.5 but I thought there was a chance it might be higher because it was from two THOUSAND.

Excellent wine. Not everyone will like it though. For me, though, it is right up my alley.
94+ points.

[Chateau Vin]

Anything around 12%, 13%, pour me....

[robert goulet]

Now

This

is

Bordeaux!!!

Well done

[Nicklasss]

Sociando Mallet is simply the best secret of Bordeaux wines. I thought the place and the vineyard was very nice when I was there in 2012, met Jean Gautreau during the tour (i was alone with Cybil, the tour responsable) and tasting the 2009 after the tour.

Nic

[AlexR]

Jim,

A very controversial wine that has (had?) really strong bell pepper characteristics.

I'm glad to see that you liked it.

I have one bottle to spring blind on someone who says he hates it .

Alex

[DavidG]

Alex, I hate it.

When should I come over?

[Carlos Delpin]

Thanks for sharing. I have a few waiting for my son to get to drinking age. Have a 96 ready for tonight.

[JimHow]

Bell peppers indeed. Glorious bell peppers!
12.5% in 2000.
Man, that is what Bordeaux is all about.

[JimHow]

I'm about to go into a stretch of three jury trials over the next five weeks so I'll likely be going into some level of a wine drinking fast, but next on the agenda will be to crack open that case of 2003 SM!

[Blanquito]

Prediction: if the 2000 merits a 94-How, the 2003 might go to 96-How!

[JimHow]

It could very well, Patrick. That '03 was a beauty in its early days.
I have one lousy bottle of the '02 left from that case.
Was that the golden age of Sociando Mallet?
How is it performing these days relative to 1990-2005?
Seems like some of the scores of the "experts" have not been great.