Wine Advocate
par Robert Parker le 02/05/2014
Whether it is due to the vintage or to Gautreau, the ferocity of the tannins in many 2011 Medocs seems relatively tame, but there is no lacking concentration in this wine, which is clearly of classified growth quality. It boasts a dense purple color along with abundant notes of creme de cassis, crushed rocks and spring flowers. Medium-bodied and super-rich, it is a real revelation in a vintage such as 2011. Given its precociousness and silky tannins, it can be drunk in 2-3 years, or cellared for two decades.
Since I began covering these wines nearly 35 years ago, Sociando Maillet, with its fabulous terroir north of St.-Estephe, has been one of Bordeaux’s greatest over-achievers. It continues to prove that it should have been included in the 1855 Classification of the Wines of the Medoc. Proprietor Jean Gautreau is an example of a winemaker/vigneron/viticulture who does everything right regardless of vintage conditions.