Chateau Sociando-Mallet Cuvée Jean Gautreau 2014
Chateau Sociando-Mallet Cuvée Jean Gautreau 2014
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92 points Vinous Media
The 2014 Cuvée Jean Gautreau is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot picked between September 23 and October 11. It has a much more appealing bouquet than the 2013, offering a mixture of red and black fruit, cedar and smoke; clarity increases with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh, showing supple tannin, a fine line of acidity and a well-defined, sensual finish that takes the oak in stride. This is an excellent Cuvée Jean Gautreau that should age with style. Tasted at the vertical tasting at Sociando-Mallet.
92 points Wine Advocate
The 2014 Sociando-Mallet put in a great performance in barrel. Now in bottle, the sophistication is evident on the nose with beautifully defined black fruit tinged with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, supple tannin, a silver bead of acidity and superb focus towards the finish. The energy here is superb and it tempts you back immediately for another sip. Probably a Sociano-Mallet that will drink young, yet there is the class to suggest it will age supremely well.
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.
