Second label (in French Second vin) is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine.
It refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label. In some cases a third wine or even fourth wine is also produced. Depending on the house winemaking style, individual plots of a vineyard may be selected, often those of the youngest vines, and fermented separately with the best performing barrels being chosen for the house’s top wine with the other barrels being bottled under a separate label and sold for a lower price than the Grand vin.
Chateau Palmer with Alter Ego, Les Forts de Latour and Clos du Marquis are some of the other Bordeaux estates that produce Second Label Bordeaux Wines. There are other Bordeaux chateau that produce true, Second Label Bordeaux wine.
The best second label Bordeaux wines are quite good and often better than many classified growths. Second Label Bordeaux wines produced by the same technical team that produces the top wine. Most of the Second Label Bordeaux wines are made to be enjoyed most of the time, on release.
Even though being second, if they are priced well, second label can offer simple pleasures. As it become popular and recognized that second label Bordeaux wines are a positive method that clearly increases the quality of the estates Grand Vin, or top wine, a larger percentage of what used to go into the first wine is now being placed into the second wine. That means many second label Bordeaux wines being made better today. In fact, some estates like Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Latour have introduced third wines, making the quality of their second label better.
Some of the best values in wine often come from a well-known producer’s second label. To clarify, these are not the exact same wine bottled with a different label and sold for less. They are crafted by the same skilled winemaker, often grown on the same estate soils and aged and stored in the same winery. Typically, they are made from fruit that didn’t officially make the cut for the flagship bottling or from a boondoggle year of excellent fruit. Many are aged differently, often spending less time in oak. What does remain the same is the winemaker quality assurance: second labels enjoy all the skill and expertise the premium wines receive. In a nutshell, you get a taste of excellence at a great price.
Second label Bordeaux wine Collections At The Oaks Cellars