Second To...

I’ll try to make this simple: some wineries make “second labels,” wines they make under a name different than their main moniker. The second wine is typically more affordable. This is not to be confused with Bordeaux’s second growths (of which there are first through fifth), although a lot of Bordelaise wines (whether first, second, third, fourth or fifth growth) make second (and third) wines. Ergo, the expression “second seconds.” And honestly sometimes a third wine from a first growth is as good as a first wine from a third growth. I am so sorry! I recognize this is literally more vexing than trying to find value in the toilet paper aisle where 16 double rolls = 72 rolls, but 24 rolls of another brand also = 72, and that doesn’t even account for ply. Is a second wine from a first growth worth more than a first wine from a fifth growth? Only marketers can do the math for you unless you dare to taste, and I do dare. We should start by explaining why a second wine is considered to be so. Some common factors are younger vines, less aging, and less oak. AND, especially with the super-duper high-end “age-or-be-sorry” wines, second wines are often made for more immediate consumption rather than collecting and long-term aging. The wild thing about second labels is that some are SO affordable. And yet, some second wines still cost more than you might spend on an entire case of more affordable offerings. Some taste expensive, but most taste friendly, at least. Much as first labels vary wildly in price and quality, so do second labels. I made it my mission to taste an assortment of second (and admittedly third, this girl’s on a budget, and somehow Latour isn’t interested in press samples) labels. These are all over the place in terms of both price and quality, although under the right circumstances, I wouldn’t hate having any of them in my glass. In no particular order (except the one I happened to taste them in): THE OG: THE HILT and JONATA Repping Santa Rita Hills and Ballard Canyon, respectively, both The Hilt and JONATA make gorgeous wines—under the guidance of winemaker Matt Dees, who also makes… THE SECOND: THE PARING Gorgeous wines, overdelivering on price. The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is splendid—crisp, more fruit-forward, and the gooseberry and petrichor hint at the Savvy B of it all. It gives citrus, pineapple, and apple on the nose and palate, bleeding into handsome honeysuckle. REALLY good. Nuanced. It brings texture and evolves with time—more floral and gooseberry notes arrive. And GOSH, the 2019 Red Blend is delicious, balancing 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 14% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot against 22 months in French oak, 45% new; it is straight-up YUMMY (pardon my French). Lively cassis, blue plum and violet play with silky tannins and lightly peppered vanilla bean. It was well-composed but surprisingly refreshing; I’d believe it was twice its 25-dollar price tag—utterly crave-worthy. THE OG: OPUS ONE That big Napa brainchild of Robert Mondavi and Philippe de Rothschild, a Bordeaux blend and cult classic, if ever there was. I’ve tasted it once or twice. THE SECOND: OVERTURE I wish I could cite a vintage, but I cannot because, gird your loins, Overture is multi-vintage! I opened this at a blind tasting with some of my fellow WSET Diploma survivors. “It tastes like Opus One,” said Jiaqi, who has an exceptional palate. I let them go on guessing for a hot minute—they thought, for a minute, it could be Old World. I broke down and let Jiaqi know that she was, in fact, more or less drinking Opus. It comes without a vintage with the philosophy that allowing additional aging time plus the flexibility of blending across vintages helps them craft a “softer, rounder expression” you can drink earlier. It smells red-fruited and slightly sappy, like cedar, a prickle of jalapeño pyrazine chirping upon exhale. Silky with healthy fine-grained tannins, it purrs across the palate, a little bit of oak vanilla and spice playing nicely with sparkly ripe red and purple plums, dusty stems speaking up too. Honest verdict? We actually all liked it better than Opus One. Super elegant Napa Cab, more old-world styled. I love it—it doesn’t knock you over the head with oak. It is seamless, sleek, yummy, and, yes, quaffable NOW. THE OG: VARNER WINE Low intervention Santa Barbara and Paso Robles wines courtesy Jim and Bob Varner! THE SECOND: FOXGLOVE Admittedly, I haven’t had Varner, but if Foxglove is the second wine, I imagine I’d admire the first. I tasted a few bottlings: at 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12.5% Petit Verdot, from an average of 21-year-old vines, the 2021 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is quite a balanced example—the alcohol a mere 13.4 – very polite for a Paso Cab. It tastes like ripe red fruit (plums, cherries, currants), friendly vanilla, and baking spice, which speak to some oak. There’s almost a cola note, too, though, which is super fun. The mouth brings clingy but introverted tannins; you might not think of them unless you are thinking of them, but you notice them hanging on if you do. I was also a big fan of the [2018 Pinot Noir](https://delectable.com/wine/foxglove/central-coast-pinot-noir/2018)—textbook Cali Pinot, boasting ripe red cherry and cola vibes. It dips a bit into Ricola with a sort of sappy note, keeping the sweet fruit from clinging or cloying. Slight herby underbrush notes foil those vibrant cherries. The wine is well-textured with a hint of tannic grip, just enough to add a savory vibe. The 2021 Chardonnay is a charming foxtrot of tropical fruit and fresh citrus-honeydew melon vibes scored through with pear. It is user-friendly. The Zinfandel has 10% Petit Verdot, livening up the ripeness and richness of the brew. It is all those hedonist things—succulent blackberry and currant, hints of chocolate and cherry cordial, but also, the PV brings in a zip of greenery and spice. Super fun, give it to your friends who like the rich side of life. THE OG: ALOIS LAGEDER Alois Lageder makes some sit-down-for-this surprising—I recently sampled his ‘Porer’ Pinot Grigio , AND I WAS NOT READY. Goodness gracious. It included some skin contact, and it was utterly lip-smacking and gobsmacking and tauntingly coppery hue. Come to think of it, I want more of it immediately, but! This is a second wine, and the Porer whetted my palate nicely for: THE SECOND: RIFF The 2022 Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC (made with organic grapes—love to hear it) keeps all the things I like about Pinot Grigio (fresh citrus fruit and a faint yeastiness) without veering into what turns me off about less-good PGs which veer either in the direction of having next-to-no taste or reeking of beer. This one is nicely balanced and crisp, full of sunshiny lemon and grapefruit pith, along with some saltine cracker and white bread notes I rather enjoy. Call it the Fresca of Pinot Grigio—and there is NOTHING wrong with that. THE OG: FAR NIENTE A Napa stalwart with a memorably styled label. I believe I have also reviewed their Dolce dessert wine label, which is luxurious and crave-able. THE SECOND: POST & BEAM The look is similar, slightly simpler. The taste is still high quality. I honestly felt like this tasted as expected in this price range, but I can also remember wines I’ve tasted that were more expensive that I liked less, and vice versa. So, overall, I think this is a good bet if you want that luxe feel for (slightly) less lira. I tried the 2023 Carneros Chardonnay , which is more rich and big. The nose gives lemon balm, vanilla bean, tangerine, quince and chalk, buffered by baking spice. The palate is luscious but bright and shimmery, the acidity taking turns with vanilla and cream to show off, garnished by caramel. Rather scrumptious, definitely a food Chard, but not so much that you couldn’t enjoy it on its own, especially heading into autumn. THE OG: CHÁTEAU CHEVAL BLANC Sideways, anyone? This is the famed Merlot-heavy wine Miles drinks a 1961 vintage of at the end of the movie (if you haven’t seen it yet, I’m not sorry if I’m spoiling it—you’ve had two decades to catch up). It is also not a Blanc! Obvi, as it is Merlot forward. In recent years, it has made news for stepping away from its classification as a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé A, along with a couple of other of the region’s heavyweights, Château Ausone and Chàteau Angélus. THE SECOND: LE PETIT CHEVAL I opened this on my birthday (it seemed apropos). Like its big brother (sister/horse-er?), it is a St-Émilion Grand Cru…and I tried the 2021 , which, omg, I feel bad I have committed so much wine infanticide in my life…this is good now but shows SO much promise for age-ousity (new wine adjective, adverb?) Made of 60% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. Blackberries, tobacco, slight violet notes and toasty cedar on the nose initially, heavy twirling teases out hints of red plum. The palate starts earthy, broadening across the mid-palate to reveal juicy, juicy cassis (red and black) and a touch of dried vines that reads as enriching, not drying—inching further towards perfume on the finish. The tannins are the melt-in-your-mouth type—they make themselves known and then relax. I loved this wine. Give it air if you open it now, lots of air and twirl it like it’s the belle of the ball, but ideally, give it a little more time. I’m not sure when it will peak, but it should continue to evolve favorably over the years. THE OG: DUCKHORN I’ve always enjoyed a Duckhorn—their winemaker, Renée Ary, knows what they are up to: decadent Napa wines without going off the deep end of oak or ripeness. Funnily, after having the Merlot heavy Petit Cheval on my birthday proper, a few days later, a friend made me a birthday dinner (grilled asparagus, halloumi and sourdough, oh my!) and popped a 2014 bottle of Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard Merlot which was showing quite nicely. Rich enough, plummy, white chocolate and…oh wait, this is about second labels. THE SECOND: DECOY There is Decoy and a Decoy Limited at a slightly higher price point (5-ish dollars more). The 2022 Decoy Chardonnay gives a hint of vanilla oak on first sniff, perhaps a little too much, but given a swirl or two, out come bruised apple, pear, allspice and quince. The palate is super refreshing—she’s a Chardonnay, and she's not afraid to capture people who want that Cali-richness, but it’s all perked up with citrus juice and pithy notes. The oak integration isn’t quite there, but it's still a fun wine. The 2021 Pinot Noir is what I actually liked better. It is definitely red fruit-forward. It is a little baking spice spicy. It is easy enough to drink, with alcohol and acid balanced. The fruit (red cherry, a little cranberry, if I use my imagination) is the most vocal and a little simple, bordering on sweet but politely not sweet. It punches in right at its price point. The 2022 Decoy Rosé is formed of 62% Syrah, 15% Carignan, 12% Vermentino, 11% Grenache is a cheery blend. Very southern France, but these are Cali grapes. All the red fruits on the nose: raspberry-intensive with red plum/strawberry/ruby red grapefruit asterisk. On the palate, increasingly minerally, some very ripe citrus and rose petals creeping in. Totally quaffable. THE OG: CHATEAU LATOUR Yes, the giant. It is one of the most famed (they are all very famed) of Medoc's first growths, classified in the 1855…classification. I have not had it. Actually, I’ve only had one of the first growths (Mouton-Rothschild), but I live to try more and would love to think all five are as excellent as can be. Anywho… THE SECOND: LE PAUILLAC DE LATOUR I opened the 2019 vintage, a mere baby. I know. Pauillac is home to most of the first growths: Latour, Mouton-Rothschild and Lafite-Rothschild. This is a very well-made wine. It feels a smidge more new-world styled, fruit leading, but is so ballasted by the earth, the pencil lead, the shining wet-rock mineral notes. The nose is blackcurrant and blue plums even, with slight pepper and roses. The palate is so smooth—sanded down tannins. Granted, this had barely entered open-worthy territory, but it is showing a lot already and with air even more—the florals start to enter the picture. The already well-integrated tannins get silkier. This is an EXCELLENT wine. Interestingly, the Overture was a Napa touching on Bordeaux sensibilities, while the Pauillac was a Bordeaux wine touching on Napa vibes! THE OG: TALLEY VINEYARDS SLO babyyyyy! Aka the (relatively) newly minted American Viticultural Area San Luis Obispo, rapidly gaining a reputation for making stellar wines with coastal influence. THE SECOND: BISHOP’S PEAK I didn’t get to try the Talley Vineyards proper wines, but the second label, 2022 San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir , is OH SO good. And for a very reasonable price in the 20’s. A spicy rendition, showing clove, white pepper and black tea on the nose (on top of to-be-expected-but-not-unwanted) of ripe red cherry. The palate brings in more green notes, contrasting the ripe fruit and fruitcake spices, but the acid is vibrant, and the tannins are scarcely there—this is a smooth, smooth glass of goodness. IN THE END Some of these wines overdeliver on taste for the price, and some are EXCELLENT, actually close to being on par too, if not preferred, but still above most people’s price point. Some are great if you prefer a wine that doesn’t need at least ten years to grow into itself. Do I have a definitive stance on second wines? I was hoping to reach one but didn’t. I will say they adhere to the laws pretty much all wines seem to follow: price indicates quality to an extent, and honestly, how much you are willing to spend sets that limit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Want to read more from Ellen? Check out her recent articles: A Valpolicella For All Ellen in Lalaland: Atwater Village Voyage! The New Garagistes All the Cutwaters, All Lined Up BIANCO: An Italian Love Story Ode to Txakoli Bolt These for Beltane Lifting: a Rosé Story You can also listen to Ellen's podcast, The Wine Situation here . Check out her recent transcripts of the Final Five questions: Wine Situation Final Five! Kristin Fione Wine Situation Final Five! Kristin Olszewski