Deep ruby with a tight rim. Lively and fresh with attractive flavours and velvety tannins. Well made, with a bit of extraction with good balance. This bottle is an early-drinking wine but will offer much early-term drinking pleasure—full-bodied wine with an array of alluring flavours ranging from plums and blackberries to cedar. The tamed tannins are still dominating at the moment—moderately long length. She starts drinking fine.
Contrasting scores. RP has yet to score with quite some awards at the 88 to 90 level. Hence it is cheap as a Second Growth of Margaux. However, two insiderd give a relatively high score, for example:
94 Gilbert Gaillard
2011 Vintage Tasted: May 2012
EN PRIMEUR - Deep garnet-red. The profound nose of ripe red fruits with delicate oak and graphite. Rich, full and warm palate intermixing red fruit and oak. Closely integrated, warm, fat and long across the palate. Edited.
94 VertdeVin
2011 Vintage Tasted: Sep 2022
The nose is powerful and precise and offers a friendly power and finesse of grain. There are notes of ripe blackcurrant, crunchy Morello cherry and more slightly violet combined with touches of lily and bergamot, as well as fine points of camphor, spices and a subtle hint of pepper. The palate is fruity and balanced and offers a nice minerality, lovely fruit juiciness, precision, fine chewiness, and a specific purity. On the palate, this wine expresses morello cherry, pulpy/juicy blackcurrant and more slightly crunchy strawberry notes combined with hints of violet, crushed currants, hints liquorice, bergamot, subtle hints of sweet blond tobacco as well as a slight hint of liquorice, a very discreet hint of colas and a subtle hint of a sense of place and saline/grave minerality. The tannins are precise and racy. Good length. A very pretty, fresh and crunchy wine. Edited.
Château Rauzan-Gassies was classified as a second growth in the 1855 Classification of the Médoc and Graves, and like many wines in the appellation. The 28-hectare (70-acre) vineyard is located on gravelly soils, which are typical of the area. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up around two-thirds of plantings, with Merlot and a tiny amount of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot making up the rest. Wines are vinified in modern stainless steel vats, with alcoholic and malolactic fermentations happening simultaneously. Château Rauzan-Gassies typically spends a year in oak barrels, around a quarter of which are new. In the 18th Century, the estate was a part of the vast Rauzan estate, which by 1855 split into châteaux Rauzan-Gassies, Rauzan-Ségla, Desmirail and Marquis de Terme. Since 1945, Rauzan-Gassies has been owned by the Quié family, who also own Bel Orme and Croizet-Bages.
Deep ruby colour with tight garnet rim. It opens up fine with some complexity, mainly from using four varieties, with 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. The first nose is filled with maturity-classy and complex tones, delicate woods, black(red) currant, cherries, prune, and black tea. The palate reflects the nose and is accessible, soft, medium-bodied, easy to drink, not particularly powerful and a little less robust than Barton can be, but already very accessible, with integrated tannins and a fresh acid structure. Medium length in the finish and balanced in itself. Not a great vintage but a great drinking pleasure.
The score is consistently high, for example:
WE 94–96. Barrel sample. Firmly tannic, this wine is dry and extracted. There's potential for this powerful, impressive wine to bear its very dry character with the weight of its fruit. Edited.
VertdeVIn 95. The nose is fruity and fresh and offers some minerality and good definition. There are notes of crunchy blackberry, crushed strawberry and more slightly crushed raspberry combined with touches of blueberry, delicate hints of liquorice, and cardamom, as well as discreet hints of vanilla and almost sweet blond tobacco. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, stretched out, and precise and offers suppleness, good definition, a certain gourmandise, power with delicacy, harmony and an acidic structure. On the palate, this wine expresses juicy/acidic blackberry, crunchy redcurrant and slightly fresh plum notes with a touch of fresh violet, delicate vanilla/vanilla bean, zan and a subtle, almost sappy edge (in the background) and a discreet hint of chocolate. Nice acidity and ripe/acidic, juicy fruit. Edited.
Deep glowing ruby with a tight rim, this bottle is elegantly dark-fruited with sophistication. The profile is towards the terroir-based—a near 5th Growth quality with traditional, St Estephe structure, firm backbone, earthy, mineral, barnyard with tamed, still dusty tannins. The palate is gripping with texture leading to a dry, medium finish. Relatively fresh and clean.
Some customers and critics(including JS) would want more fruit. Unfortunately, most Medocs do not have round, ripe fruit. However, the team thinks this wish is stylish and unique. Appropriate food and fresh blueberry will add much to its appreciation.
Consistent scores.
Many tasters like the wine, including RP, who is 2012 for once accorded it 93 Points. The latest score is from Decanter. Awarding it 93 points, Decanter wrote, " Medium-bodied 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc blend from Bordeaux, France. 13.0% ABV. This is one of the most must-try wines in this lineup because it stands next to these Pauillac classified properties and delivers so much enjoyment about the 1996 vintage. Crème de cassis, chocolate and rich black fruits with finely-bonded open tannins. At its plateau, with tertiary notes of undergrowth and tobacco leaf, this easily has another decade ahead of it and is a signature Médoc Cabernet." 93/100 points from Jane Anson at Decanter Magazine. Decanter continued, "Jean Gautreau purchased the estate in 1969, and it outperformed most Cru Bourgeois. Château Sociando Mallet has expanded to a 57-ha estate from its 7ha under the 30 years ownership of Gautreau, who is aware of his superb terroir and trying to make exceptional Clarets for long keeping; and succeeded!" Edited.
