Best second wine(s)

So this evening I went out to eat at a local BYOB Italian joint Buon Gusto in Closter, NJ with my parents and opted to bring 2 second wines in both the NV Cerbaiona Vino Rosso (which I bought from Garagiste in July 2016 for $22.81) and the 2012 Guidalberto (which I bought from Zachys in November 2014 for $25) and it got me thinking, what is/are the best second wines you have encountered that are worth their price of admission?

Not best ever but here’s a couple from the past few months:

2012 L’Esprit des Pavots
2012 Moulin d’Issan

Agreed on the 2012 Guidalberto, although I think it needs lots of time sideways.

Ridge Estate Cabernet

La Tour Haut-Brion (RIP).

I used to think Bahans Haut-Brion was a good deal. Now, rebranded and $$$, not so much.

La Demoiselle de Sociando-Mallet

The 2nd wine of La Gaffeliere is Clos La Gaffeliere and it is fantastic in 2012. It’s about equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc. I believe the 1st wine is more like 80% merlot. So there is this cherry component along with earthy loamy notes but it is oh so clean tasting.

Haven’t had the 2nd wine of Calon Segur but the 3rd wine is La Chapelle De Calon and it is fantastic in 2010. Big wine with powerful earthy dark cherry and round fruit. I believe it is 58% Cabernet 40% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot.

Not sure La Tour H-B is/was a true second wine. (Individual vineyard, 5 hectares, 2000 cases.)
Jeff Leve says it was considered as the second, before 1983. -And also says "The wines were vinified at Chateau La Mission Haut Brion and received the same care and treatment as the wines of Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. The same technical team was in charge of both estates, in the vineyards, and in the wine cellars.

In 2006 the La Tour H-B was merged into the Grand Vin (La Miss.) and so, the old Chateau/name disappeared.

La Chapelle de la Mission H-B is a true second, and a bloody good one too. (The 2000 Chapelle is a fantastic wine.)

Kind regards, Søren.

Dame de Montrose is often one of my favorites.

Carruades de Lafite 1995 and 1996 were on sale from pallets in well assorted supermarkets in 1999, @ $30-35/btl. Luckily I still got some cellared, as these two easily costs north of $200 today. -What happened here ?

It’s a good second wine, but at $200, I consider selling some, and spend on backfilling some non-trophy '96 regular Classified Growths, at more ‘normal’ prices.

Søren.

I don’t think any of the are especially attractive buys. I’d much rather have the very best wine a skillful and conscientious producer can make, for less, even if it comes from a vineyard that historically has been viewed as inferior.

Dominus Napanook

A couple favorites in the past have been Moulin Riche (but I believe starting 2009 it is a wine in it’s own right, not a second label) and Sarget de Gruaud-Larose.

When it was $30, maybe. Now? Not a chance.

I agree.

le serre nuove dell’ornellaia.

Søren,
Parker has a somewhat different take (I think Jeff left out some history in his restatement):

“La Tour-Haut-Brion was, until 1983, owned by the Woltner family, also the proprietors of La Mission-Haut-Brion. In 1983 these two properties, plus the white wine-producing Woltner property - Laville–Haut-Brion – were sold to the American owners of Haut-Brion.
The wines of La Tour-Haut-Brion up to 1983 were vinified at La Mission-Haut-Brion and handled identically. After both wines were completely finished with the secondary (or malolactic) fermentation, a selection process commenced in which the most promising barrels were chosen for the wine of La Mission-Haut-Brion and the others reserved for La Tour-Haut-Brion. In vintages such as 1982 and 1975, the difference in quality between these two wines was negligible. To give La Tour-Haut-Brion a unique personality, the wine had more of the black/purple-colored, very tannic press wine added to it than La Mission-Haut-Brion. The result was a wine with more size, tannin, colour, and grip than even La Mission-Haut-Brion. The addition of press wine caused most vintages of La Tour-Haut-Brion to evolve slowly. In a few vintages – notably 1973 and 1976 – the wine turned out better than those of the more famous sibling.
Since the Dillon family and Jean Delmas assumed control of the winemaking, the style of La Tour-Haut-Brion has changed considerably. It is no longer the second wine of La Mission-Haut-Brion. Delmas has chosen to make La Tour-Haut-Brion in a lighter style from the property’s own vineyards, which are now planted with relatively young vines.”

• Robert Parker, Bordeaux: A Comprehensive Guide (1998 edition)." Emphasis added.

Parker, above, states what I understood to be the relationship between LTHB and LMHB when I was buying both in the late '70s and early '80s.

Regards,

Parker was more than a bit sloppy in his description of La Tour Haut Brion. He does a good job encapsulating the approach at the end of the Woltner period. But post 1984 and until its demise with the 2005 vintage, La Tour Haut Brion was most definitely not a second wine. Regrettably Parker’s choice of word for the following phrase obscures the issue:

Delmas has chosen to make La Tour-Haut-Brion in a lighter style from the property’s own vineyards, which are now planted with relatively young vines.

The Dillon family / duke of wherever, did own the vineyards and bottled it as it would any other ‘chateau’. It was, initially, in a lighter style as the younger vines (as with some replanting in La Mission) necessitated it. But later bottlings showed a deeper style. I lament its inclusion in La Mission as La Tour H-B could be purchased at a quite reasonable price and had a true Pessac-Leognan character. Its inclusion in L-M-H-B strikes me as a cash grab as – even with a true second wine now produced – more high-priced L-M-H-B is available. How much money does the Duke of Wherever need?

There is some interesting information available on the WWW, including on the early Woltner regime. And the exact nature of the bottling of La Tour H-B after the war is confused. I’ll post them if I can find the links.

Pensees de Lafleur 1990

Thank You Mark.
At least it’s more clear now. Until 1983 regarded as the second wine(Woltner era), -from 1984 an independent production(Dillon), -and terminated in 2006, included as part of LMHB.

Just found this from J. Leve:
“The property produces an outstanding second wine, La Chapelle La Mission Haut Brion, which made its debut in 1991. Starting with the 2006 vintage, the quality of this wine improved when fruit normally reserved for La Tour Haut Brion was merged into La Chapelle La Mission Haut Brion.”

The Ch. La Tour H-B fruit is still struggling with serious identity problems, it seems.
-Some grapes will probably also end up in the Grand Vin, as Matt pointed out.

-Søren.