Demoiselle de Sociando Mallet, 1998 and 2000

I love the wine from Sociando Mallet. I remember trying a bottle of the 2000 and wondering whether this was the best wine I had ever tasted! That is probably an exaggeration, but Sociando Mallet is one of those Bordeaux properties that produce excellent wine year after year, and you are not charged an arm and a leg for it. The vineyards provide a traditional Bordeaux blend with Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Petit Verdot (5%). The grapes are fermented in stainless steel and concrete tanks and finished with oak, and much of it is new, which leads to initially tannic and long-lasting wines. I try to get hold of at least some wine from this property every single year.

Demoiselle de Sociando Mallet is the second label of Sociando Mallet, and its wine is also consistently excellent so I was delighted yesterday when Dr. M arrived with a bottle of the 2000 when he came to dinner. First we had the bottle of the 2000. The color was beautiful -- a dark, clear ruby color. The blend was well integrated, and you could still taste the vanilla overtones from the oak. With its wonderful long lingering finish, this is an excellent wine.

i had a bottle of the 1998 lying around in my cellar, and thought it would be a great opportunity to compare it with the delightful 2000. But the 1998 was a different story altogether. First, the color bothered me. It had been well stored in my cellar practically from "birth." Yet, this wine was a brownish, muddy, color without the clarity of the 2000. It was drinkable, but definitely a let down after the 2000. The taste was a little harsh, and there was something a bit weedy about this wine. It definitely seemed "over a hill" that it might have never even climbed. A disappointment!