Who’s on Second?
Second labels are a good fit for budget-seekers looking for quality wines from a producer with a good reputation. Some of them are created by the most famous winemakers in the world. They are all relative bargains. Most of us have never heard of them. And it’s not because they’re produced by small vineyards or fetch high prices at exclusive wine auctions. It’s because they are second label wines, made by the same wineries as their better-known siblings but bottled under a different name.
Second labels were born in 18th Century Bordeaux as a simple solution to an old problem: what do you do with too many grapes? Thus the practice of establishing a second wine began as a way for Bordeaux winemakers to be more selective of the wine going into their estate label wine without wasting the remaining wine. Second labels is a phenomenon that grew out of the strict rules regulating just what could go and could not go into the signature blends of classed growth chateaux. The second wine may have some hints and characteristics of the estate wine but is typically less polished and structured than the estate wine.
An estate will rarely promote its second wines and most wine labels will not even mention the parent estate because of the desire to keep the estate solely associated with its grand vin. Consumers discovered these wines as a more affordable way to drink the wine of a first growth or classified Bordeaux estate without paying the premium for the estate's label and classification.
Many Chateaux’s in Bordeaux create a grand vin and a second label. Alter Ego de Palmer sells for around the $50, compared to around $250 for big-brother Chateau Palmer. Les Pagodes de Cos is a second label of Château Cos D’Estournel. The second label will fall into the $30-50 price range depending on year vs. $150 plus for signature label.
A few Second Label options:
Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, approximately $40, is about half price of the Napa Valley signature Cabernet from Darioush.
Jayson by Pahlmeyer, named after the trial attorney Jayson Pahlmyer, is about half price the Napa Valley proprietary red called Pahlmyer, which sells for about $100 a bottle.
Pavillion Rouge (de Chateau Margaux) would be the second label for the great Chateau Margaux. Pavullion Rouge sells for about $120 a bottle, while Chateau Margaux can set you back $500 to $1,000 a bottle.
One of Napa’s original second labels, Hawk Crest by Stag Leap Cellars, is a bargain in the under $20 dollar bracket.
Cheers!
