With the great French wines become more and more expensive every year, it is only natural to look occasionally for bargains, and there may be no better wine bargains available today than the "second wines" of the great Chateaux of Bordeaux. There are certain rules that govern the making of such wines. In addition to being made from grapes that grow in the same vineyard, second wines must be made by the same winemakers and in the same cellars and barrels in which the great wine of the chateau is made.

There are, of course, differences between the great wine of a chateau and its second wine. Because vines younger than ten or twelve years yield grapes that do not have the concentration and aging ability required by the great wine, the grapes from the younger vines are often set aside to go into the second wines. More than this, at times, perhaps due to the vagaries of the weather, some of the mature vines do not produce just the right style or quality required by the great wine, and these too can be set aside for second wines. Finally, because some of the more mature vines in a given year produced wine that just doesn't fit into the pattern of this particular vintage, those grapes will also make their way into the second wine.

Because it reminds some people of buying seconds at stores or asking for a second class ticket on the train, buying "second wines" sounds a bit cheap. It is true that when tasting a first wine and a second together that you will always be able to tell them apart. The second will always lack a little of the drive, a little of the lingering tantalizing flavor of the great wine. As wine critic Oz Clarke once wrote "the flavors that shout at you in a great wine will whisper to you in the second wine".

There are advantages to buying seconds, however, not the least of which is that second wines always cost less than half of what one would have to pay for the great wine from the same chateau. Another advantage is that because they rely heavily on grapes from young vines, second wines mature more rapidly and are ready to drink more quickly, giving you a hint within four or five years of the greatness that the glorious great wines may take twenty years to attain. Another advantage is that in great vintage years the gap in quality between the great wine and the second can be very narrow, the differences being in aging potential, complexity and elegance.

The idea of second wines is not a new one. Chateau Leoville- Les-Cases produced its first Clos du Marquis in 1904, and Chateau Margaux made its first Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux in 1908. The present importance of such wines is a recent development however, only about twenty years old. More and more grapes are being harvested, higher and higher prices are being asked so winemakers have a duty to ensure the highest possible standard for their great wines. This in turn means that more and better second wines are now being offered, frequently at very reasonable prices, and are definitely worth considering.

Among the second wines I have recently tasted was the 1989 Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margaux. 1989 was one a truly great year in Bordeaux and many consider the Chateau Margaux wine to be one of the greatest wines of the century. Softer and more delicate than the wines of Chateau Latour and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild of the same year, the wine displays an extraordinary balance and elegance, has a perfumed bouquet that reminds one of violets or freshly hewn cedar wood. Because the great wine is still young it is not yet easy to appreciate, and I estimate that it will remain just a bit tough and lean for another five or six years when its brilliance will begin to be felt more fully. The Pavillon Rouge of this particular vintage is not far behind the great wine in quality. Fragrant, elegant and delicate (but not at all feeble), the wine has enviable levels of complexity and finesse and, because it was made primarily from young vines, is perfectly ready to drink now and will remain at its peak for another 3 - 4 years before it begins to decline.

Following is a list of the second wines I most highly recommend.

(The Great Chateaux) - The Second Wines

(Margaux) - Pavillon Rouge de Chateau Margeaux
(Lynch-Bages) - Haut-Bages-Averous
(Talbot) - Connetable Talbot
(Pichon-Longueville-Lalande) - Reserve de la Comtesse
(Haut-Bailly) - La Parde de Haut-Bailly
(Haut-Brion) - Chateau Bahans-Haut Brion
(Latife Rotschild) - Moulin des Carruades
(Latour) - Les Forts-de-Latour 1990
(Cos d'Estournel) - Marbuzet
(Gruaud-Larose) - Sarget de Gruaud-Larose

© Daniel Rogov