Second wine

Depending on the house winemaking style, individual plots of a vineyard may be selected, often those of the youngest vines, and fermented separately, with the best performing barrels being chosen for the house's top wine and the other barrels being bottled under a separate label and sold for a lower price than the Grand vin.

[6] In the drive to higher quality that has taken place in recent decades, additional Bordeaux châteaux have added second wine.

With the increased market competition since the 1980s, estates became more selective in the assemblage stage, making greater parts of the production disposed to be either sold off in bulk, or blended into second (or third) wine.

[1] Having a second wine is generally a part of the recipe prescribed by Michel Rolland and similar wine-making consultants.

Some selection takes place already after harvest, when plots that are often underperforming or are planted with younger vines will be earmarked for the second wine, which means that they receive a "cheaper" treatment with a lower percentage of new barrels.

Three second wines from Bordeaux: Clos du Marquis, the second wine of Léoville-Las Cases , Chevalier de Lascombes, the second wine of Château Lascombes , and Les Hauts de Smith, the second wine of Château Smith Haut Lafitte .
The Grand vin and Second vin of the Second Growth estate Château Lascombes ; the Second vin is called Chevalier de Lascombes.