I was at my monthly tasting group last night. We did 9 wines, but the trio of Sociando really stood out for me.

All three bottles were bought on futures by the host & stored from "birth" in his cellar. There was no decanting.

1986 Sociando-Mallet
The most aromatically closed of the three & my least favorite (although that's relative). The color was still a solid ruby with no color change at the rim. Lots of body and structure, with black fruit hinting at emergence, but not coming out to play. Very full but also very tannic on the finish. This has years of life left in it. I gave it 15/20, but I'm sure it has lots of upside.

1988 Sociando-Mallet
This was immeasurably better than a bottle of the same wine (from the same host) two years ago. Back then it was closed up tight as a drum. On this night it showed lots of blackberry, cassis, leather and tobacco. All the structural elements were in harmony, although there is certainly still an upside on this wine, since it had tons of fruit and tannin still going for it. The finish was very long and firm. Delicious wine & classic Bordeaux! I gave it 18/20 & was the high scorer in the group. (Some of the guys are into more lush wines.)

1990 Sociando-Mallet
Give the nose on the '88 a kick in the fruit forward direction & you have the '90. This was a stunning wine with all the richness and delineation that a good (ok make that great) Bordeaux should have. Of course it only cost the host $11 on futures. :^( My only quibble was that it was a tad too tannic on the finish, but there's plenty of fruit left to address that discrepancy with some bottle age.

This has only reinforced my opinion of Sociando-Mallet as one of hte great wines of hte world. It may not be Latour, but it always stands up.

We also had a 1990 Grand Mayne that was spectacular, and a 1990 Chateau Souverain that really surprised everybody. The Souverain actually won WOTN from the group, but came in 4th for me.

Very useful notes. Have you had the 1989? I am thinking of opening one.
The only problem I have with Sociando Mallet is that prices seems to have caught up with quality and it is no longer the value it used to be ($11 a bottle! amazing). I was viewing Potensac as the next Sociando (they are almost neighbors and Potensac has great owners, Leoville Las Cases), but prices there are rising fast too.

great notes. i can't wait for my 00's to mature.

I think Sociando is still a bargain at futures (though acknowledged not what it used to be) and even the '00 release prices. Take a gander at what the '86, '89, and especially '90 are fetching on the open market. I guess the market is still skeptical on this wine young and once the proof is in, values accordingly. Last I looked the cheapest '90 stateside was over $120/bottle.

AI - I would expect them to be mature much earlier than you!

Well we did not have the '89. I was pretty happy with what the host pulled from his cellar nonetheless.

I agree that Sociando is not the value it once was. For instance I bought my 2000 futures at $25/bottle on FIRST TRANCHE, and the '01 (only a few weeks from coming in) is only $24.99. So the retail of the '01 is essentially the first tranche price of the '00. Unfortunately the '03 is in the mid to high 30s. I picked up 3 bottles to have some, but I'm not a quantity buyer at that price. Heck with all the '00 and '01 I have I may never need to buy another drop of Bordeaux.

I'm actually thinking of picking up a solid case of Potensac in 375s to have some good red for those nights when I don't want to open a 750. Plus that gives me the chance to follow the wine for 10-12 years while tasting it regularly.

In any event, Sociando-Mallet is a great estate & easily worthy of 5th, 4th or maybe even 3rd growth status. (I think it's as good as Lagrange in most vintages, and Lagrange is a fine wine.) It sure does not need some silly Bordeaux Superieur classification.

By the way, the '96 Sociando (tasted last week) is about 5 more years from prime time drinking, although it's not painful now.