Château Sociando-Mallet is an unclassed

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

producer from the

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

Haut-Médoc. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

is located on the Left Bank of the

Bordeaux wine regions The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...

, in the commune of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne north of Saint-Estèphe, France. Despite its estimation as a producer of high quality wine, it was neither ranked in the

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the Exposition Universelle (1855), 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III of France, Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordea ...

(not existing at the time), nor is it listed among

Médoc The Médoc (; ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the '' département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, northwest of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''( Pagus) Medullicus'', or "country ...

's ''

Cru Bourgeois The Cru Bourgeois classification lists some of the Château#Bordeaux, châteaux from the Médoc that were not included in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, 1855 Classification of ''Crus Classés'', or Classed Growths. Notionally, ...

'', due to a decision of its owner Jean Gautreau not to enter it for such classification. The winery also produces a

second wine Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...

named La Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet.

History

Situated on what was in 1633 the residence of a Basque nobleman named Sièvre Sociando, the first documentation of the estate mentions its ''nobles terres''. After its acquisition around 1850 by Madame Mallet, it was recorded in the 1883 edition of ''

Cocks & Féret ''Cocks & Féret'', or simply ''Féret'', is the colloquial name of a Bordeaux wine directory originally created by Charles Cocks and Michel-Édouard Féret in 1846, which was published under the name ''Bordeaux, its Wines and the Claret Country'' ...

'' along with Château Verdignan as the leading ''cru'' of Saint-Seurin. Sociando-Mallet was a forgotten and derelict property of vastly reduced land by the time it was bought by Jean Gautreau, a ''négociant'' from Lesparre, in 1969. The estate has since seen considerable expansion and modernisation, and enjoys high prices and a good reputation in today's wine market.

Production

The vineyard extends to 50 hectares, with the grape varieties of 55%

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

, 40%

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

and 5%

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

. An average of 20,000 cases of the ''Grand vin'' are produced per year.

References

External links

Château Sociando-Mallet official site

Tasting notes on Sociando-Mallet: a selection from 2014 to 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sociando-Mallet, Chateau Bordeaux wine producers