2001 Chateau Sociando-Mallet

The grape harvest lasts about 3 weeks. The order of picking depends on the grape variety, the age of the vines, and the specific plot. The entire vineyard is harvested by hand into small crates by a team of 120 pickers. The bunches arrive at the cellar in perfect condition.

Sociando Mallet is vinified traditionally. Only native yeast and bacteria naturally present on the grapes and at the estate are used. Sociando-Mallet has stainless steel and concrete vats, both of which are temperature-controlled. Once the wine is put into vat, the crushed grapes start to ferment thanks to the presence of yeast. The skins and pips float to the surface and form a cap above the must (fermenting grape juice). The vats are pumped over daily to extract colouring matter and aromas from this cap. Pumping over consists in spraying the cap with must taken from the bottom of the vat.

For the first 3 or 4 months, the barrels are kept with a glass bung on top. As the new oak absorbs a lot of wine at the beginning of ageing, the amount that evaporates is replaced twice a week in a process called topping up. After this period, we close the barrels with a wooden bung and we store it “bung on the side» to limit the evaporation and protect the wine from oxidation. La Demoiselle is aged for 15 months and Sociando-Mallet for 18 months before bottling at the château. Special attention is paid to the quality of the corks, which are purchased according to strict specifications. They must be good enough to ensure perfect ageing for long periods, sometimes more than 40 years.

Château Sociando-Mallet produces full-bodied wines with a deep, dark colour. Their complex bouquet is usually dominated by black fruit aromas with a touch of minerality and well-integrated, elegant oak. Often somewhat "virile" when young, the wines gain in balance and complexity with age. They are fresh, straightforward, and have a wonderful length.