Ch. Sociando Mallet (0.75 L)

NM: Sociando Mallet is a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc this year. It has a rather introspective bouquet, broody and earthy, although with aeration it reveals pleasant blackberry and wild strawberry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with chewy tannin, a little rustic and brutish at the moment with an abrasive finish that will hopefully soften by the time it is in bottle. I feel that this was just upended by the storms that swept across the region in September.