Château Sociando-Mallet 2020, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France

The vineyard and chateau sit right on the Gironde, in the commune of St.-Seurin de Cadourne, just to the north of St Estèphe. The vineyard is on a gravel croupe that slopes away from the buildings at the top of the estate. The varieties planted are 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, the remaining 5% part Cabernet Franc and part Petit Verdot. The vines are planted very densely, and there is no green harvest, thus yields are high even for Bordeaux, with perhaps 80 hl/ha. The harvest is manual, and once in the cuvier the fruit is fermented in both concrete and stainless-steel vats, with temperatures up to 33°C to encourage the extraction of tannins. The wine is then macerated for three weeks, before going into oak (100%).