Leans just a bit on the lean side, in a supposedly rich and ripe vintage. Still young, but you’d have to like the signature house style to appreciate this, and I did. A-
Nice, Ramon. Imagine how good this would be with just a bit more concentration and fruit? I guess we know based on the 82 and the 90.
Plus, Patrick, I dig that 12.5% (tasted lower, imho) on this.
Lean wine in a ripe vintage. That sounds perfect to me, Ramon. I haven’t had this wine in about 20 years, but every bottle that I had back in the early 90s was delicious.
It’s an excellent wine, almost Chinon-like in its leanness.
Sociando - the Loire man’s Bordeaux. Thanks for the ntoes Ramon. We should do a vertical sometime.
Indeed it is. And ironically, it has very little Cab Franc in the blend. Always baffles me on that.
How much bell pepper did you find in the wine?
A good whiff of it, and much more, on the nose than in the palate. It’s obviously there in the palate, as well, but I expected it from this producer, especially at this early age.
Agree with the Loire comparison. That’s what I’ve been thinking while I drank this.
Anyone here had the 09 or 10 S-M? Thoughts?
I have tried this wine 3x in 2010, 2013 and in late 2014. Although the first 2 were nice, but somewhat lean, I thought the last bottle was great, smooth and bursting with fruit. My note for the last bottle said it was the first 2000 that I had tried up to then that was worth the hype.
Another word for SM is patience. I think my 96s are just starting to drink as they should.
Am I the only person who thinks that a warm vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux showing at least as much pyrazine character as a cool vintage Cabernet Franc from the Loire suggests viticultural incompetence more than a basis for praise?
I found solid fruit in the 2000, more than in many other years of S-M. Plenty of green pepper but counterbalanced by a deep and fruity midpalate. (I find the combination of fruit and green pepper kind of trippy to taste).
For brighter minds than mine, but have you tried 2003 and 1990? The 1990 is a beautiful rendition of classic Bordeaux in a warm vintage. I will not call the 2003 a “beautiful” wine but it sure handled the warmth very well, I like this bottling quite a bit.
My note on the 2000 Sociando from 2015:
Decanted 1.5 hours outside, cool evening outside.
Silky, musky Bordeaux perfume, a bit reticent early on. An interestingly red-fruited Bordeaux, lighter on its feet than I would have expected for this wine, this vintage. Tart red berries, hints of cassis, old barn wood, cigarette ash, bell peppers. Picking up some plummy, smoky notes about 2.5 hours into this wine. The merlot is shining now, though I have to admit to thinking this wine has a much larger percentage of Cab Franc (surprisingly, only 5%). Finishes long and grainy with some grip. This wine has barely entered its drinking window, and I will not touch my others for 3-5 years, but I have zero regrets drinking this wine right now. It’s showing great. Paired perfectly with grilled meats.
In an era where many decry the ubiquity of Bordeaux, this wine stands proud of its distinct tradition. This is a distinctive wine, a trait I value.
(93 pts.)
No one has said that in this thread.
When this wine was young I used to drink it over the course of 3-5 days. The green diminished and the fruit came further to the front each day. It has been years since I last opened one. Maybe it’s about time. Just for science.
Fine, I’m saying that. I’ve had the 2000 blind within the past two years and the 1996 within the past couple of months and both showed more pyrazines than any Loire CF I’ve had during that period, and I’ve had quite a few.
To respond to Robert’s questions, I had the 1990 about 3 years ago and liked it quite a bit, but to the extent I found any pyrazines it was a nuance like the role bell pepper plays in trinity, not a primary feature like it has been in the 2000s I’ve had. I don’t recall having had the 2003.
Edited to add: I have half a case of the 2000 and 4 750ml and 2 375ml left of the 1996, so I hope that future bottles prove me wrong. But I can only judge based on what I’ve had, not what I hope to see.
I didn’t get what you were saying without you saying it.