A second wine was originally used to describe the second label of a Growth or Grand Cru wine in Bordeaux. In those cases, 2nd wines may use grapes that are not used or do not meet the specifications of the winery to be placed in the Grand Cru or “first” wine.
However, with modernization, second wines now refer to a broad spectrum of sibling or alternate wines produced not only in Bordeaux but also in other places in the world likeNapa or Italian producers. In these situations, the wine may be a totally different blend of grapes and use grapes for vineyards not used to produce the first wine.
2nd wines should not be confused with 2nd Growth wines, which is a level of wines in the 1855 Classification System
Some famous examples of Bordeaux 2nd wines are:
Chateau Lafite – Carruades de Lafite
Chateau Latour – Les Fort de Latour
Chateau Margaux – Pavillon Rouge Margaux
Chateau Haut Brion – Le Clarence de Haut Brion
Chateau Mouton Rothschild – Le Petit Mouton
Some famous examples of 2nd wines from other parts of the world are:
Dominus – Napanook
Screaming Eagle – 2nd Flight
Harlan Estate – Maiden
Ornellaia – Le Serre Nuove
Sassicaia – Guildalberto