Chateau Sociando-Mallet Cuvée Jean Gautreau 2012
HAUT-MEDOC
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Regular price $114.99
Sociando-Mallet Cuvee Jean Gautreau 2012
$114.99 (USA low)
(only 26 b0ttles)
$114.99 (USA low)
(only 26 b0ttles)
Very nice Bordeaux, medium bodied, tannins resolved, pleasant nose, no signs of aging, should hold for another 5-7 years but very approachable now. Shows some improvement in the glass so a 30 minute decant. Cherry, cassis, smooth tannins, tobacco, bit of bell pepper.
ABOUT THE SOCIANDO-MALLET JEAN GAUTREAU CUVEE
Quite simply one of the best and most respected winemakers in all of Bordeaux, Jean Gautreau has been creating some of the world’s finest wines at Château Sociando-Mallet in Haut-Médoc for nearly a half-century.
In 1995, the cellarmaster of Sociando-Mallet had the idea of selecting fifteen barrels from among sixty to make a blend called “Cuvée Jean Gautreau.” The choice of barrels was made during a blind tasting after one year of aging. The cellarmaster, the oenologist, Sylvie Gautreau, and Jean Gautreau evaluated wine from each barrel. The fifteen highest scoring barrels were blended and put into special bottles labeled as Cuvée Jean Gautreau. The eponymous wine has a higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon than Sociando-Mallet. While somewhat austere in its youth, it reaches its full potential with extended aging in the bottle.
Jean Gautreau is simply another version, indeed another vision, of the Sociando-Mallet spirit, offering a different blend from the estate’s leading wine, the taste of a captured moment. It is neither more concentrated, or better, or a luxury product, or a marketing gimmick. It is just another way of approaching the exceptional gravelly terroir and extra-low yields from the same vineyards which produce Sociando-Mallet.
Jean never intended to make his namesake wine available to the public during his lifetime. Instead, he planned it as a legacy for Sylvie, so he produced the wine every year since 1995, bottled them, and kept them at the back of the cellar to age gracefully to be eventually released after his passing. Finally, in 2013, Jean changed his mind and decided to release 12 vintages, 1995 thru 2006, all at once. Jean Gautreau passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. His legacy lives on and drinking fantastic bottles of Sociando-Mallet and Jean Gautreau will be a constant reminder of his role as a pioneer in the world of wine.
In 1995, the cellarmaster of Sociando-Mallet had the idea of selecting fifteen barrels from among sixty to make a blend called “Cuvée Jean Gautreau.” The choice of barrels was made during a blind tasting after one year of aging. The cellarmaster, the oenologist, Sylvie Gautreau, and Jean Gautreau evaluated wine from each barrel. The fifteen highest scoring barrels were blended and put into special bottles labeled as Cuvée Jean Gautreau. The eponymous wine has a higher proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon than Sociando-Mallet. While somewhat austere in its youth, it reaches its full potential with extended aging in the bottle.
Jean Gautreau is simply another version, indeed another vision, of the Sociando-Mallet spirit, offering a different blend from the estate’s leading wine, the taste of a captured moment. It is neither more concentrated, or better, or a luxury product, or a marketing gimmick. It is just another way of approaching the exceptional gravelly terroir and extra-low yields from the same vineyards which produce Sociando-Mallet.
Jean never intended to make his namesake wine available to the public during his lifetime. Instead, he planned it as a legacy for Sylvie, so he produced the wine every year since 1995, bottled them, and kept them at the back of the cellar to age gracefully to be eventually released after his passing. Finally, in 2013, Jean changed his mind and decided to release 12 vintages, 1995 thru 2006, all at once. Jean Gautreau passed away in 2019 at the age of 92. His legacy lives on and drinking fantastic bottles of Sociando-Mallet and Jean Gautreau will be a constant reminder of his role as a pioneer in the world of wine.