Yeah, moving a market of 7 bottles - he’s a legend.
Fortunately, one of the Berserkers reached out and offered me one of HIS bottles, which is freakin’ epic, and one of the things I love most about this place…that it’s more fun to SHARE what you love!!! ![[drinkers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/82916bed5ad74ac8470bc04089d9758b0c80c9fa.gif "drinkers"){kind=small}
I’m debating making this my new signature.
Those 01s had been sitting there at WineEx for months, too- I almost grabbed them earlier this year. Should have pulled the trigger! Oh well.
MarcF and I popped the 2003 Sociando Cuvée Jean Gautreau last night. Quite a contrast to the 2001, but you can say that as well comparing the 01 and 03 normale. Sociando pulled off a very strong 03 despite the heat of the vintage, but it is indeed more kush and rounded than normal. While I like it, I much prefer the acidic spline and the thread of red fruits in the 01. MarcF thinks the Cuvée JG shows more new oak. I’m not sure that’s so, think it’s more the vintage, but his perceptions are always on point. I think both bottlings get 100% new oak, I just don’t know the duration for either cuvée. Either way, 03 is a crowd pleaser, but not a vin de garde like 01.
Popped a few other pretties, but the 2011 Flacienello was the winner for me. Perhaps because we were eating Italian.
Ok just checked Leve’s site.
The normale is mostly aged in 95% new oak, and then the remainder in tanks for 12 months. The JG Cuvée gets 100%. So MarcF is right. But, is it perceptible? You be the judge.
Here’s a fun look at the location and soil types:
Thanks, David. Great video clip.
Sociando is one of the most northern of the major Medoc wineries, which should not surprise that some of us like it so much, especially in these warmer years. It has excellent, gravelly terroir, which is the comparable of many of the higher Classified Growths. I think of the other notable Haut Medoc estates, only Coufran, which I also like, is further north.
Yes I do believe the JG threw a bit more new oak, I actually thought it was a quite noticeable, actually a bit too noticeable… it’s def. a nice wine but for the '03 vintage my heart lies firmly with the regular SM bottling
…lol huh?, I thought the Flaccianello had a very poor showing, I did not care for this wine at all, in fact it was my least favorite
Is there something like everyvine.com for Europe and/or Bordeaux? That video makes me want to look for hidden gems.
I opened a bottle that I bought (noted above) from the OP’s review. Not first growth quality but very nice!
Posted from CellarTracker
Great note, I’d take a 93 as well!
For the record, anyone that bought this wine that is not wowed by it, I will happily buy it from you.
I made the mistake of not buying more, lol.
With NYC friends in town, had another SM 2000 over the weekend, with ribeyes off the grill. Decanted about three hours. Interestingly, quite a different experience this time. More advanced than any SM I’ve ever had (though I only go back to 82), but in a very good way. Soft body, silky texture. Classic SM character (other than cassis) was not present, and if served blind I might have guessed an early or mid-80s Pauillac. Strange, as it came from the same batch of other 2000 SM that have been quite consistent. Depending on one’s orientation, I suppose either a positive or negative surprise. Though I am an SM fan, I am inclined to see the stem as half-full. 93
Not sure I would call the 2000 SM “lean”, although most of my bottles have been decidedly “green”. To me, the green pyrazine character is combined with a relatively full bodied, in fact otherwise ripe wine. Last bottle was definitely the greenest I have had…
The 2000 is a mercurial wine. I’ve had quite a few. I’ve had some that had almost too much green for my palate, and I like veggies. I would never peg this blind as a 2000.
Ditto. And like Tom, I’ve followed this wine since it’s release.
Who doggies, maybe I spoke a bit too fast. Just found a 2000 SM in my closet and tried tonight. So while I still might argue about the use of word “lean”, since the wine strikes me as pretty powerful, it is also a hard wine. So I guess it could come down to how you define the word “lean”. But green notes (no, not Cuban tobacco) and slightly bitter tannins dominate. And did I mention it, hard hard hard. Reminds me of a slightly powerful 1976 Left Bank Bordeaux, very strange for such an overall ripe year.
Now tasting like a Cab Franc with its green streak…