I receive many sample wine bottles so that I can taste and review the wines. I recently received a few “second wine” samples and that reminded me that I had a few older ones in my cellar that I had purchased in the past, which I had never tasted. So I uncorked one of them.
“Second label wine” is a term most commonly associated with Bordeaux’s first or second growth wineries to refer to a wine that is produced from plots in their vineyards not used in the “Grand Vin,” their first label. Most of the better Old World wineries have second labels, and a few even have third labels.
The second – or even third – label wines typically come from vineyard plots with younger vines that have been vinified separately from the grapes used for the Grand Vin, which is made from the vineyard’s older vines. The best tasting barrels from the younger grapes may be selected by the oenologist to blend into the Grand Vin to enhance the final product, but that is not always the case. And whatever wine from younger vines is not used is usually sold under the second or third label.
Another use for a second label is in poor vintages when the quality of the wine after vinification is not considered good enough by the estate to sell under the first label. In that case a winery might not release a first label for that particular vintage year, but will sell its entire production under the second or even third label, rather than selling the wine in bulk at a much lower price to négociants who create their own proprietary wine blends under their own labels.
In Italy, a winery’s top quality product does not always conform to the strict local DOC or DOCG regulations as far as allowable grape varieties and percentages in a blend to get a DOC or DOCG designation. This, for example, is very prevalent with Italian Super Tuscans.
Numerous Montalcino producers use the designation “Roso di Montalcino” as a second label. Again, they’re very good wines, but not as great as an actual top Brunello.
Recently, I opened the second wine of a Super Tuscan producer, Luce Tenuta della Vite, founded in Montalcino as a project of the Frascobaldi and Mondavi families. This second label, a well-aged 2011 bottle of La Vite Lucente, was a big blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Smooth, ripe accents of dried plum and blackberries were prominent, along with pungent roasted espresso and a hint of green pepper. It’s an excellent wine and well-priced for the quality it represented when I bought it. Nowwhen tasted, it felt much younger than its actual age!
Because of climate change, we’ve had more good vintages in the past two decades than we used to see 30 to 40 years ago. This means that today, a number of the second label wines might be as good tasting as the first labels were in the past. I’ve been drinking second label wines from Grand Cru estates, for example, as a more affordable way to have the product of an illustrious classified Bordeaux château without paying the premium for the estate’s collectable first label.
Château Mouton Rothschild was one of the very first wineries to release a poor vintage under a second label. Mouton Cadet was initially used as the second label, selling wine from difficult harvests considered unfit to be drunk as the château’s Grand Vin. It was sold at highly reduced prices compared to the first label.
Eventually, the buyer’s response was deemed a success, but the sale of the second wine continued as a separate brand. The estate has expanded with more labels pushing Mouton Cadet further down its portfolio, with Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild currently the estate’s second wine.
Château Margaux has Pavillon Rouge as a second wine, and Château Lafite Rothschild has Carruades de Lafite-Rothschild (until the mid 1980s known as Moulin de Carruades). In the past, I have purchased both Pavillon Rouge and Carruades, and I think they are excellent for the price, although nowadays, they are unfortunately not as inexpensive as they used to be.
Third and Fourth Growth wineries, even Fifth Growth, have now second and a few third labels. Château Léoville-Las Cases is producing its Clos du Marquis as a second label, and Château Lascombes its Chevalier de Lascombes.
Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is selling La Reserve de la Comtesse, Château Lagrange offers Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Château Giscours offers La Sirène de Giscours, and so on.
The majority of the second labels are pretty good wines, and there are even some that are almost great wines, especially when there is a great vintage. As a winemaking friend said, “It is 90% the quality at 45% to 50% the price.” Those interested in finding the second wines of any classified Bordeaux estate (1855 classed growths) can look up the “Bordeaux second wine” list on Wikipedia. Every second wine produced is listed there.
My strategy for purchasing Bordeaux wines while keeping costs at a logical level is as follows:
For exceptional vintages, I purchase lots of second labels. They are usually very good, perhaps not as smooth as a first label and still need considerable cellaring, but certainly not shabby. After some judicial aging, they usually become exceptionally drinkable.
Good vintages: I purchase second labels and first labels of Médoc Cru Bourgeois, if they are logically priced.
Poor vintages: I purchase mostly first labels of Third or Fourth Growths, not the Grand Crus, again providing they are logically priced.
Very poor vintages: I purchase Brunello, Morellino, and Super Tuscan wines from Italy or the better wines of Spanish Catalonia, Taragona, or Rioja.
To your health!
Manos Angelakis was one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the former Managing Editor Emeritus, and former Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He passed away in 2025 as an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he wrote extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos was also certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. His articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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