What Is a Second Wine in Bordeaux, and Is It Worth Buying?

You recognize the château, but the label isn't the Grand Vin. Carruades de Lafite, Pavillon Rouge, Les Forts de Latour: these are Bordeaux's best-known second wines, and they can be a way into a great estate at a fraction of the flagship's price. They are also real wines with their own vineyards, blends, and histories, and they deserve to be judged that way.

Here is the question I ask before buying one: what went into this wine in this vintage, and what do I want from it? "Second" describes where the wine sits in an estate's range. It isn't a quality score, and it isn't a promise that you're getting the Grand Vin at a discount.

What Is a Bordeaux Second Wine?

A second wine is a separately named cuvée that a château makes alongside its flagship, the Grand Vin. Each year the estate tastes through its vineyard parcels and cellar lots and decides which go into the Grand Vin, which go into the second wine, and at some estates, which go into a third. Young vines are often part of the second wine, but so are lots that are simply better suited to a softer, earlier-drinking blend in that vintage.

How strict that selection is can be surprising. In 2012, Château Latour put 36% of its production into the Grand Vin, 43% into Les Forts de Latour, and the rest into its third wine. At Château Margaux, roughly a third of the harvest has recently gone into the Grand Vin and under 30% into Pavillon Rouge. At the top estates, the second wine is often the larger bottling.

A Second Wine Is Not a Second Growth

This is the label mix-up I hear most. A Second Growth is an estate ranked in the second tier of the 1855 Médoc classification. A second wine is a separate bottling from a single estate. A First Growth makes a second wine, and so do Second Growths. The two terms answer different questions, and second wines are not classified themselves, even when the parent château is.

If you want the classification first, start with our guide to the First Growths of Bordeaux. Our First Growth vs Second Growth comparison weighs the estates and their flagships. This guide is about whether the second bottling from a particular château belongs in your cellar.

A Short History of Second Wines

Second wines are older than most buyers assume. Château Léoville Las Cases is usually credited with the first formal second label, Clos du Marquis, starting with the 1902 vintage. Château Margaux sold its second wine simply as "Château Margaux 2e Vin" before naming it Pavillon Rouge in 1908. Les Forts de Latour arrived much later, in 1966.

The category took off in the 1980s and 1990s, when stricter selection became the standard route to a better Grand Vin. Many estates added a third wine for the same reason: pushing lots down a tier lifts the quality of everything above them.

The First Growths' Second Wines

Three Names Worth Knowing

Les Forts de Latour

Les Forts is not just "Latour's leftovers." Much of it comes from dedicated parcels outside the Enclos, Latour's walled heart, such as Petit Batailley, Comtesse de Lalande, and Sainte-Anne. It also includes young Enclos vines and some lots that were considered for the Grand Vin but assigned to Les Forts at blending. The estate says Les Forts gets the same care in vineyard and cellar as the Grand Vin, with a higher share of Merlot and a different aging regime.

Buyers should know one unusual thing: Latour stopped selling en primeur after the 2011 vintage. It now holds Les Forts at the château and releases it years later, when the estate considers it ready to drink. That means a new release has already had some bottle age, and the château has controlled its storage the whole time. Our Château Latour collection shows the Grand Vin vintages we currently have, if you want a reference point.

Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux

Château Margaux has made a second wine since long before most of its neighbors, and it has tightened the selection over time. Starting with the 2009 vintage, it began bottling a third wine, Margaux du Château Margaux, which let Pavillon Rouge become more selective still. The château's notes show that the share of the harvest going to each wine, and the character of each, change from vintage to vintage. The name tells you the family; the vintage notes tell you about the bottle.

Carruades de Lafite

Carruades takes its name from the Carruades plateau, a group of plots next to Lafite's best vineyards that the estate bought in 1845. The label has a messy history. According to Lafite's managing director, the wine was renamed Moulin des Carruades in the late 1960s, partly because some sommeliers were presenting Carruades as a special cuvée ranked above Lafite. The estate went back to Carruades de Lafite in the early 1980s. If you see both names at auction, that is why. Treat Lafite's reputation as a starting point, then judge the vintage and price in front of you.

When Is a Second Wine Worth Buying?

Start with why you're buying. If you want to see how a great château handled a vintage, a well-chosen second wine can be a rewarding bottle to open, and usually a sooner one. If you want the depth, structure, and collectibility of the Grand Vin, buy the Grand Vin when your budget allows. Don't expect its sibling to fill that role.

Then compare honestly. Taste the second wine against the Grand Vin from the same year, but also against the Grand Vin of another château at the same price. First Growth second wines carry a premium for the family name, and the best value is sometimes outside the famous family. Our Left Bank vs Right Bank guide helps if you're comparing across the region, and our Bordeaux collection shows what's currently available.

For mature bottles, condition can matter more than a clever label choice. Ask for the exact wine and vintage, inspect the bottle, and establish where it has been stored. Our provenance checklist covers the questions to put to any seller.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is a second wine in Bordeaux?

A second wine is a separately labeled cuvée a château makes alongside its flagship Grand Vin. Each vintage, the estate decides which vineyard parcels and cellar lots go into each wine. Second wines often include younger vines and lots that suit an earlier-drinking style. They usually cost less and open up sooner, but they are distinct wines, not smaller copies of the Grand Vin.

Is a Bordeaux second wine made from leftover grapes?

That's too simple. Châteaux sort parcels and cellar lots into different blends, and the reasons change each year. At Latour, Les Forts de Latour draws on dedicated parcels outside the Enclos as well as lots considered for the Grand Vin. At top estates the second wine is often the larger bottling. In 2012, Latour put more of its crop into Les Forts than into Château Latour itself.

Is a second wine the same as a Second Growth?

No. Second Growth refers to an estate's tier in the 1855 Médoc classification. Second wine refers to a separate bottling made by a single château. A First Growth such as Château Latour makes a second wine, and so do many Second Growths. Second wines themselves are not part of the classification, even when the parent château is.

What are the second wines of the First Growths?

Carruades de Lafite (Château Lafite Rothschild), Les Forts de Latour (Château Latour), Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux (Château Margaux), Le Petit Mouton (Château Mouton Rothschild), and Le Clarence de Haut-Brion (Château Haut-Brion). Le Clarence was called Bahans Haut-Brion until the 2007 vintage. Several of these estates also make a third wine, which lets them be stricter about what goes into the second.

Which château made the first second wine?

Château Léoville Las Cases in Saint-Julien is usually credited with the first formal second label, Clos du Marquis, starting with the 1902 vintage. Château Margaux followed by naming Pavillon Rouge in 1908. Today Clos du Marquis comes from its own vineyard and is treated as a separate wine. Since 2007, Léoville Las Cases' second wine has been Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases.

Will a second wine taste like the Grand Vin?

It may share some estate character, since the vineyards, team, and cellar are often the same. But the parcel selection, grape blend, and aging can differ meaningfully, and many second wines contain more Merlot. Read the producer's notes for the specific vintage, and taste it as its own wine rather than as a cheaper stand-in for the flagship.

Do second wines need less cellaring?

Usually, but not always. Second wines are generally made to be approachable earlier, but top examples from strong vintages can reward ten years or more in the cellar. Les Forts de Latour is released only after the estate has aged it for several years. Check the vintage, the producer's guidance, and the bottle's condition before you open it or decide to hold it.