90 Wine Spectator
Displays very good concentration for the vintage. Aromatic, with plum, currant and tar character, the wine is medium- to full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a medium finish. Super buy. Best after 2003. 21,665 cases made. ?JS
90 Robert Parker
The 1999 Sociando-Mallet is an unusually structured, extracted wine in this generally rather forward vintage. Offering up aromas of cassis, cherries and loamy soil, framed by a discreet patina from its élevage in barrel, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and nicely concentrated, with ripe acids and rich tannins that still assert themselves on the finish. This is one 1999 that still amply benefits from an hour in a decanter before drinking, but age is being kind to it.
Displays very good concentration for the vintage. Aromatic, with plum, currant and tar character, the wine is medium- to full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a medium finish. Super buy. Best after 2003. 21,665 cases made. ?JS