Sociando Mallet with grilled beefsteak

Sociando Mallet with grilled beefsteak 

Linda prepared grilled filets of beef with sautéed spinach and baked potatoes. I pulled from the cellar for one of my favorite food and wine pairings.

There is great value in this second/third tier Cru Bourgeois from Château Sociando-Mallet located in the commune of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne in the Haut-Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux overlooking the Gironde river Estuary.

We drove through the area of the estate, sitting just off the Gironde River, just to the north of the village of  St-Estèphe, near highly acclaimed Château Montrose during our visit to the Medoc in 2019. 

The vineyards are planted with the designated Bordeaux varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (25%), Cabernet Franc (25%) and Petit Verdot (5%).  The wines are matured in oak barriques (70-90% new) for 12-15 months. They are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

“These are weighty, firm and well-structured clarets that are typically rich in fruit and have excellent ageing potential, said producer Jean Gautreau: "I have a superb terroir which I want to express in the wine. I try to make a classic Médoc for long keeping."

Château Sociando-Mallet Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux 2005

Sociando-Mallet has been managed by Jean Gautreau and his family since 1969. Born in 1927, Jean Gautreau created his own négociant firm in 1957 serving customers in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Jean Gautreau discovered Sociando-Mallet in the village of Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne in 1969 when looking for a wine estate to buy on behalf of a Belgian client but acquired it for himself for 250,000 French francs. 

There were only 5 hectares of vines at the time. Jean Gautreau expanded the vineyard year after year by buying vines from his neighbours. He renovated the estate’s buildings, built a barrel cellar, and gradually improved the choice of grape varieties, matching the appropriate ones to each vineyard plot.

Today, the property is comprised of 83 hectares producing nearly 450,000 bottles a year of Château Sociando-Mallet and the second wine, Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet. Jean Gautreau sold his négociant business in 2000 to focuse solely on producing wines. 

Château Sociando-Mallet dates back to 1633. Owner Guillaume de Brochon was arrested during the French Revolution in 1793 and the estate was impounded and sold at auction to his father-in-law, Jean Lamothe.

In 1831, Marie-Elisabeth Alaret, Lamothe's niece and owner of Sociando, married Achille Mallet, adding his name to the estate, the château was thereafter known as Sociando-Mallet.

The Alaret family sold the property in 1878 to Léon Simon. Between then and the arrival of Jean Gautreau, the château belonged to the wine merchant firm of Delor, Louis Roullet (Mayor of Saint-Seurin), and then Emile Tereygeol, who also owned Pontoise-Cabarrus at that time.

Jean Gautreau passed in 2019, leaving the property to his daughter Sylvie who had been managing since 2015, and has continued following in her father’s footsteps.

This aged vintage Bordeaux is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc. 

This was a perfect pairing for our dinner, the complexity of the wine complementing the beef, and is balanced by the blend, the forward structured Cabernet Sauvignon moderated by the softer more approachable Merlot, and accented by highlights of the spice and sprites of the Cabernet Franc.

I often say, the French have been perfecting these blends for five hundred years, while we Americans for fifty years, and are now just beginning to appreciate the wisdom and experience of the French! 

At twenty years of age, this is in its ‘Goldilock’s zone’, old enough to be fully integrated to reveal its complexity, to my preference, but still young enough to show the full expression of its fruits, which Linda likes. The label, foil, and most importantly, the fill level and cork were in perfect condition. This is likely at the apex of its drinking profile and may age for another five or ten years before starting to diminish.
The 2005 vintage was considered by some as one of the top ten Bordeaux vintages in history sitting alongside 1961, 1982, 1990 & 2009.

Jeb Dunnuck wrote in 2024,  “This killer bottle of wine has another 2-3 decades of overall longevity. You should buy it if you see it and count yourself lucky if you have bottles in the cellar.”

 

This release was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous, 93 points by James Suckling and Wine Advocate.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, smooth, polished and balanced black berry and black currant fruits are accented by notes of earth, herbs, tobacco, cedar and subtle floral and a hint of truffle with chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?224168

https://www.sociandomallet.com/en

Château Coufran Haut-Médoc Bordeaux 2019

Château Coufran Haut-Médoc 2019

As part of our volunteer service working the Union des Grand Cru Bordeaux 2019 Vintage Release Tour Chicago for the (Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB)), we poured this wine on behalf of the producer who was not able to attend.

I opened this to taste with some artisan cheeses, crackers and fresh fruits and assorted nuts.

Château Coufran dates back to the mid-1700s. The vineyard first gained notoriety toward the end of the 18th century when it was owned by Baron Hector de Brane, who is best known for creating Château Brane Mouton, which is known today as Château Mouton Rothschild.

The property was acquired by the Celerier family in 1868 who held it until they sold it in 1924 to the Miailhe family, who were well established in the Bordeaux wine trade at the time as negociants who also owned several other Cru Bourgeois chateaux located in the Medoc.

The Miailhe family had been active in Bordeaux since 1793 and at various times were owners of Château Pichon Lalande in Pauillac, and Château Palmer and Château Siran in Margaux.

The Miailhe family were responsible for planting a preponderance of Merlot in all of their properties, a practice that carried over to Coufran. Today the 185 acre of Château Coufran vineyards are planted to 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. With its high percentage of Merlot, Chateau Coufran has sometimes been called the "Pomerol du Medoc".

The estate sits in the most northerly portion of the Medoc, not far from the St. Estephe appellation. The terroir has coolest climate in the Haut Medoc, with some of the highest of sloping hillsides that rise to 21 meters with gravel, rock and clay soil.

The terroir is well suited to Merlot which ripens earlier than the Cabernet Sauvignon, especially with the cooler micro-climate there. The vines average about 40 years of age with some more than 50 years old.

In 1999 Château Coufran brought in Olivier Seze of Château Charmail to consult on winemaking and vineyard management which improved the quality of the wine since then over time. 

Château Coufran produces about 35,000 cases per vintage. The wine is aged for about twelve months in an average of 25% new, French Seguin Moreau cooperage oak barrels.

They also produce a second wine, La Rose Marechale. 

Château Coufran, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, 2019

The property has seen improvement in its wines in recent years and the recent 2018 and this 2019 vintage releases are considered some of their best. 

Bright ruby colored, medium-full bodied, expressive black berry and plum fruits with floral, herbs, cocoa, earth and tangy spice on the round moderate, smooth tannin finish. 

RM 89 points.

This was awarded 92 points by James Suckling.

 https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3735546

http://www.chateau-coufran.com/ 

learly things are on a roll here at Coufran, as this competes for the finest wine ever produced at the property. Medium-bodied, with flowers, herbs, spice, cocoa and red fruits show up easily in the nose and on the earthy, plummy, round, polished palate, leaving you with a bit of espresso, cocoa and plums in the finish. Drink from 2023-2033.89 Points
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/bordeaux-wine-producer-profiles/bordeaux/haut-medoc-lesser-appellations/chateau-coufran-haut-medoc-bordeaux-wine/

Chez Joël Bistro Francais Chicago - French cuisine and wines

Chez Joël Bistro Francais Chicago - French cuisine and wines

We dined at Chez Joël Bistro Francais on Taylor Street in Chicago - I say Taylor Street as it denotes many memories of a restaurant row, destination site, but historically "Little Italy", not necessarily French cuisine. Never-the-less, Chez Joel authentic French Bistro is one of our favorite go-to destinations in the City - especially in the summer on the patio. 

The quaint atmosphere and artistic decor offers an intimate setting that allows for privacy as it fills with people due to the cacophony of background noise due to the high ceiling acoustics. 

They have a new filet of beouf offering - Filet Mignon de Bœuf Grillé Au Jus De Cuisson - a beef Tenderloin Grilled in a Thyme Au Jus, Garlic Moussline, Roasted Shallots, Four Mushrooms, Fricassé of Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes. Superb and a new benchmark selection there. 

As usual, I also ordered my usual favorite starter - their delectable Pâté de deux Sortes, Duck Liver Pâté with Traditional Garnish & Toast Points; and colleague Kevin ordered and loved their Fromage de Brie Chaud - Warm Brie Cheese with Honey, Caramelized Granny Smith Apples, Apricot, Garlic, Pistachio & Toast.

From the wine list we selected  a couple of their moderate priced labels to accompany our dinner entrees.

Château Maurac Haut-Médoc Bordeaux 2016

This is a new offering on the winelist from my recollection. It is from Winemaker and vineyard manager Claude Gaudin who works with a number of châteaux in the Haut-Médoc region, including this one, considered one of the best, Château Maurac. 

This wine comes from a 24-acre estate in the northern Haut-Médoc, close to Saint-Estèphe, situated just past the appellation boundary near well-known neighbors Château Sociando-Mallet and Château Charmail. No one knows when the chateau was established as it is undocumented, however it was recognized as Cru Bourgeois as early as 1886.

With soil consisting mainly of clay with some limestone and gravel, and the Medoc climate the terroir is ideally suited for both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, both of which are about equally included in the blend.

Wine Enthusiast gave this label release 92 points.

Born in an outstanding vintage, the 2016 Château Maurac Haut-Médoc (92 points – Wine Enthusiast) captures the essence and exceptional quality of the much touted 2016 Bordeaux vintage. 

From the outstanding 2016 vintage with splendid weather throughout the Haut-Médoc, as 'all boats rise with the tide', secondary labels such as this were often exceptional, intense age-worthy wines capable to age beautifully for a decade or more.

Dark garnet colored, concentrated and complex with a structured tannic core of ripe berry and black fruits with cassis, leather and hints of cedar, oak and tobacco on the tangy acidic finish.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/editnote.asp?iWine=2690334

 

From the predominantly French, carefully selected winelist, I ordered this Northern Rhone Syrah from Crozes Hermitage, the largest vineyard among the Northern Rhône appellations with over 1300 hectares. It is spread over 11 different communes situated in the department of La Drôme on the left bank of the Rhône river. While not as elegant, concentrated, complex or intense as some of the recent Syrahs featured in these pages, this is a fraction of their price.

Les Vins de Vienne - Cuilleron-Gaillard-Villard Crozes-Hermitage 2018

This is a collaboration of three legendary Northern Rhone Superstar winemakers whose names comprise the label. Three of Rhone Valleys' most established names, Les Vins de Vienne is a partnership of Yves Cuilleron, Francois Villard, and Pierre Gaillard, each known as Syrah-specialist vignerons in the Rhône. 

Les Vins de Vienne has established a broad portfolio of wines that branched out throughout the Rhône—with 10 single-vineyard estate reds and whites from Côte-Rôtie to Crozes-Hermitage and St.-Péray and a négociant arm that bottles another 27 labels from as far south as Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Total production is around 47,000 cases, and the company has 15 employees. 

Back in 1996, this trio purchased and rejuvenated the old terroir of the vineyard of Seyssuel, located on the left bank at Rhone's northernmost point, north of Cote-Rotie. Seyssuel wines date back in history to the Roman era, the Middle Ages, and the 19th century. The wines of Le Vins de Vienne represent the Northern Rhone at its best with outstanding wines with great QPR - quality price ratios. 

Starting with just 10 acres in Seyssuel, they systematically increasing their plantings over the following years. Seyssuel vineyards are comprised of steep slopes with great exposure to the sun rising up from the eastern bank of the zig-zagging Rhône River. On the other side of the river, to the south, is the hill that forms the backside of the famed Côte-Rôtie appellation.

They named the wines after those cited for excellence by the Roman historian Pliny the Elder. Sotanum was the first red, produced in 1998, followed in 2000 by white Taburnum and in 2004 by a second, lighter red, Heluicum, which currently retails around $47 versus $80 for the first two. All three received outstanding scores in the 2016 vintage.

With 2015, a good vintage for the Rhône, Les Vins de Vienne released no less than 30 wines that scored 90 points or higher in Wine Spectator blind tastings

This label is an entry level offering that is 100% Syrah. 

Deep inky blackish garnet colored, medium bodied complex bright vibrant black and blue fruits with notes of spices, herbs, white pepper, tobacco and hints of cassis floral and vanilla with medium acidity and moderate tannins on the finish. 

RM 88 points. 

This was awarded 90 points by Vinous and Jeb Dunnuck, and 90-92 points by Wine Advocate.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3633267

http://lesalexandrins.com/en/

https://www.chezjoelbistro.com/