Second wine
A second wine is a common way of declaring and selling wine , especially in Bordelais , which does not appear to be of sufficient quality for the great wine (" Grand Vin ") of a winery .
method
After the harvest, the wines are first of all sorted and vinified. After about four months, the assemblage of the young Bordeaux wines is determined: the composition of the cuvée that will be created from the various batches for the first wine, the Grand Vin. This is initially carried out as a prototype by varying the quantities and qualities on a bottle scale.
As a rule, determining the cuvée is teamwork; several people give their judgment in this process. It is blended and tasted, also a lot of calculations, because the goal is ultimately an economic one: to bring all the wine of a good into an optimal mix, in order to achieve maximum sales from all wine lots. This process then shows which large containers will go into the blend of the first wine proportionally and in which quantity compositions.
The “remaining” batches or quantities are indirectly “deselected” as a result, they form the selected quantity for the second wine, which goes through the same process. It does not contain bad wine either. This wine is also carefully assembled and prepared for later sale through the barrique storage: the second wine.
Third wines
In some goods a distinction is even made into three categories. A third wine is also produced there. The famous Premier Cru estate Château Latour in Pauillac z. B. produces the Château Latour of a year as the first wine, then the second wine "Les Forts de Latour", which has now reached the level of a Cru Classé, and the batches that should not go into the second wine become a wine with under the name “Pauillac de Latour”, which is still able to beat many wines in its area in terms of quality due to its high-quality production. On closer inspection, this third wine is actually a second wine, as it (very similar to almost all other second wines) comes from the young plants of the main vineyard, while the wine "Les Forts de Latour" is produced on separate areas that are outside. The winery itself avoids the terms second and third wine, but positions the wines accordingly in terms of price.
The names of second wines are confusing on other goods too. A lot of "beginners" with regard to Bordeaux wines e.g. B. think that the “Mouton Cadet” available in many supermarkets is the second wine from Château Mouton-Rothschild . However, it would even be incorrectly titled as a "third wine" and is in no way comparable to the "third wine" Pauillac de Latour, neither in price nor in quality nor in the way it is produced.
Mouton Cadet is made in huge quantities (and for this reason still of considerable quality) from purchased grapes. The Cadet wine is made in a huge "wine factory" on the Medoc Peninsula, but far away from the classified goods. Only the ownership is identical to Gut Mouton-Rothschild. The second wine is also not the wine from Château d'Armailhac ; This is an estate adjacent to Mouton, which was acquired decades ago by the Rothschild family and has also been a Grand Cru estate since time immemorial, but of a lower rank than Mouton. The second wine from Chateau Mouton is “Petit Mouton”, which is often only available in small quantities. Even at Château d'Armailhac, no separate second wine is made.
If you add the neighboring "other" Rothschild goods to these many names and goods (from Château Lafite-Rothschild ), the selection becomes even more confusing:
Belong to the Lafite Group
- the Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild (like Lafite also a Grand Cru Classé estate),
- the " bourgeois " Château Clarke in the neighboring village of Listrac ,
- the second wine from Duhart-Milon Moulin de Duhart ,
- the second wine "Carruades de Lafite" from Château Lafite itself.
So Lafite has a real second wine, but not a third wine.
Even on bourgeois estates there are strong differentiations, an example is the Château La Tour de By in Begadan, where up to four different wines are produced, as a specialty (only in the best years) a special cuvée, which is still above the " Grand Vin ”from La Tour de By.
Possible types and reasons for deselection
Deselecting can sort games aside,
- whose vines do not bear long enough because the plants are not old enough after a new area has been planted and must first bear better quality,
- or the second wine contains wines that, for climatic or micro-climatic reasons, could not fully mature in one year (this happens very often with the critical Petit Verdot ),
- or they are very good batches that may have turned out very well on their own for reasons of a “typical”, recognizable taste in a certain year, but are no longer needed for the Great Wine (e.g. because the Grand Vin already contains "enough" best Merlot),
- Marketing and scarcity strategies.
Because second wines usually do not even reach half the price of the first wine. Nevertheless, there are circumstances that can catapult a second wine into massive price regions: in the subscription to the extremely good year 2000, the second wine of the Château Léoville-las-Cases , the “Clos du Marquis”, was so popular that dealers could also offer the second wine for a three-digit bottle price.
No need for a second wine
There are also goods that completely dispense with the qualitative control options for excess and shortfalls between first and second wines: this includes the Château d'Yquem . But here, too, a selection is made: Either there will be a great wine of highly demanding, excellent quality in a year, or the year has not been so very good, then the wine as it is is less excellent, or there is just not: by decision of the management. It is known that individual years of the Yquem did not enter the trade because it was more important for the estate to maintain the reputation of an excellent wine than that "inferior" wine be traded under the name Yquem. The wine is then sold as a simple "AOC Sauternes" (in this case without naming Yquem) in the trade for further expansion, blending and bottle filling. This “all or nothing” strategy is also used by some so-called “ garage wineries ” with red wines.
A list of the well-known second Médoc wines
While it was originally not possible to offer different bottlings on a single winery, since January 1993 the second wine has also been allowed to carry the name affix Château or Domaine. For example, the second wine from Château Brane-Cantenac can also be named Château Notton or Domaine de Fontarney.
Premiers Grands Crus
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château Haut-Brion | Pessac in Graves | Le Clarence de Haut-Brion (before 2007: Bahans Haut-Brion) |
| Château Lafite-Rothschild | Pauillac | Carruades de Lafite |
| Château Latour | Pauillac | Les Forts de Latour |
| Château Margaux | Margaux | Rouge du Château Margaux pavilion |
| Château Mouton-Rothschild | Pauillac | Le Petit Mouton |
Deuxièmes Grands Crus
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château Brane-Cantenac | Cantenac-Margaux | Baron de Brane (formerly: Château Notton, Domaine de Fontarney) |
| Château Cos d'Estournel | Saint-Estèphe | Les Pagodes de Cos |
| Château Ducru-Beaucaillou | Saint-Julien | La Croix de Beaucaillou |
| Château Durfort-Vivens | Margaux | Segond de Durfort (formerly: Domaine de Curé-Bourse) |
| Château Gruaud-Larose | Saint-Julien | Sarget de Gruaud Larose |
| Château Lascombes | Margaux | Chevalier de Lascombes (formerly: Château Segonnes, La Gombaude) |
| Château Léoville-Barton | Saint-Julien | La Réserve de Léoville Barton |
| Château Léoville-Poyferré | Saint-Julien | Moulin-Riche |
| Château Léoville-las-Cases | Saint-Julien | Clos du Marquis |
| Château Montrose | Saint-Estèphe | La Dame de Montrose |
| Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lalande | Pauillac | Reserve de la Comtesse |
| Château Pichon Longueville Baron | Pauillac | Les Tourelles de Pichon |
| Château Rausan-Ségla | Margaux | Ségla |
| Château Rauzan-Gassies | Margaux | Chevalier de Rauzan-Gassies |
Troisièmes Crus
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château Boyd-Cantenac | Cantenac-Margaux | Jacques Boyd |
| Château Calon-Ségur | Saint-Estèphe | Marquis de Ségur |
| Château Cantenac-Brown | Cantenac-Margaux | Brio de Cantenac Brown (formerly: Cannuet, Lamartine) |
| Château Desmirail | Margaux | Initial de Desmirail |
| Château Ferrière | Margaux | Les Remparts de Ferrière |
| Château Giscours | Labarde-Margaux | La Sirène de Giscours (formerly: Cantelaude) |
| Château d'Issan | Cantenac-Margaux | Blason d'Issan (formerly: Candal) |
| Château Kirwan | Cantenac-Margaux | Les Charmes de Kirwan |
| Château Lagrange | Saint-Julien | Les Fiefs de Lagrange |
| Château La Lagune | Ludon / Haut-Médoc | Moulin de La Lagune (formerly: Ludon-Pomiès-Agassac) |
| Château Langoa-Barton | Saint-Julien | Lady Langoa |
| Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry | (Margaux) | La Dame de Malescot (formerly De Loyac, Domaine du Balardin) |
| Château Marquis d'Alesme-Becker | Margaux | Marquis d'Alesme |
| Château Palmer | Cantenac-Margaux | Alter Ego de Palmer (formerly: Réserve du Général) |
Quatrièmes Crus
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château Beychevelle | Saint-Julien | Amiral de Beychevelle |
| Château Branaire-Ducru | Saint-Julien | Duluc de Branaire-Ducru |
| Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild | Pauillac | Moulin de Duhart |
| Château Lafon-Rochet | Saint-Estèphe | Les Pèlerins (formerly: Le Numéro 2) de Lafon-Rochet |
| Château La Tour-Carnet | Saint-Laurent / Haut-Médoc | Les Douves de Carnet |
| Château Marquis de Terme | Margaux | Domaine des Gondats (Bordeaux Supérieur) |
| Château Pouget | Cantenac-Margaux | Antoine Pouget |
| Château Prieuré-Lichine | Cantenac-Margaux | Le Cloître du Château Prieuré-Lichine (formerly Clairefont) |
| Château Saint-Pierre | Saint-Julien | Peymartin (formerly: Clos de Uza, Saint-Louis-le-Bosq) |
| Château Talbot | Saint-Julien | Connétable de Talbot |
Cinquièmes Crus
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château d'Armailhac | Pauillac | Has no second wine, the rest goes into the branded wine Mouton Cadet |
| Château Cantemerle | Haut-Médoc | Les Allées de Cantemerle (formerly: Baron Villeneuve de Cantemerle) |
| Château Belgrave | Haut-Médoc | Diane de Belgrave |
| Château Clerc-Milon-Rothschild | Pauillac | Has no second wine, the rest goes into the branded wine Mouton Cadet |
| Château Cos Labory | Saint-Estèphe | Le Charme de Cos Labory |
| Château Croizet-Bages | Pauillac | Richebon (formerly: Enclos de Moncabon) |
| Château Dauzac | Labarde-Margaux | Labards |
| Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse | Pauillac | Prélude à Grand-Puy Ducasse (formerly: Artigues-Arnaud) |
| Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste | Pauillac | Lacoste-Borie |
| Château Haut-Bages-Libéral | Pauillac | La Chapelle de Bages |
| Château Haut-Batailley | Pauillac | La Tour l'Aspic |
| Château Lynch-Bages | Pauillac | Haut-Bages-Averous |
| Château Pédesclaux | Pauillac | Sens de Pédesclaux |
| Château Pontet-Canet | Pauillac | Les Hauts de Pontet |
| Château du Tertre | Arsac-Margaux | Les Hauts du Tertre |
A list of the well-known second wines from the Sauternes
The first-class plants
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château La Tour Blanche | Sauternes | Les Charmilles de Tour Blanche |
| Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey | Sauternes | La Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey |
| Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey | Sauternes | La Gourmandise de Clos Haut-Peyraguey |
| Château de Rayne-Vigneau | Sauternes | Madame de Rayne |
| Château Suduiraut | Sauternes | Castelnau de Suduiraut |
| Château Coutet | Sauternes | Chartreuse de Coutet |
| Château Climens | Sauternes | Cypres de Climens |
| Château Guiraud | Sauternes | Le Dauphin de Guiraud |
| Château Rieussec | Sauternes | Carmes de Rieussec (formerly Clos la Bere ) |
| Château Sigalas-Rabaud | Sauternes | Lieutenant de Sigalas |
The second-ranked plants
| winery | Appellation | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Château Doisy-Dubroca | Sauternes | La Demoiselle de Doisy |
| Château Doisy-Védrines | Sauternes | Château Petit Védrines |
| Château d'Arche | Sauternes | Prieuré d'Arche (formerly Cru de Braneyre) |
| Château Filhot | Sauternes | Château Pineau de Rey |
| Château Nairac | Sauternes | Esquisse de Nairac |
| Château Caillou | Sauternes | Les Erables de Caillou |
| Château de Malle | Sauternes | Saint-Helene |
| Château Romer du Hayot | Sauternes | Château Andoyse du Hayot |
| Château Lamothe | Sauternes | Les Tourelles de Lamothe |
| Château Lamothe-Guignard | Sauternes | L'ouest de Lamothe-Guignard |
literature
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . Hallwag, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8338-0691-5 .
