The Case for Bordeaux Top Classified Châteaux’ Third Wines (9-Bottle Wine-Pack $275, All Included)

The great estates of Bordeaux first began to release second label wines in the 17^th century, and although they have traditionally varied in price-to-value ratio, it is a logical way for these highly-prized properties to be flexible in their output and to promote their Grand Vin while offering a representational alternative at a lower cost. For consumers, B-List wines from top châteaux often offer a couple of practical advantages that their big-shouldered brothers cannot: Affordability and accessibility in their youth.

Second label wines are not to be confused with the 2^nd Growth wines from the historic 1855 Bordeaux Classification like Château Rauzan-Ségla and Château Léoville Las Cases. Second labels are made as separate cuvées within Classified Growths (Crus), often serving as a commercial repository for fruit from declassified lots or slightly Brix-challenged grapes. Throughout Bordeaux, the offerings of second labels attached to grand châteaux is pretty well represented, so what would be the purpose—let alone the incentive—of introducing a third label? Especially since additional labels also require clever new business strategies to separate them from the pack in the eye of the consumer?

That’s a question answered in part by a decade’s worth of physical expansion among several of the Left Bank’s most highly-prized châteaux. New vines have been planted in new terroirs that may take decades to reach maturity. Despite exceptional soils, these very young vines are not yet producing fruit worthy of even a château’s second wine, since the selection process these latter wines has become more rigorous in recent years. Second label wines have undergone an effort to improve quality while third labels offer a showcase for younger wines. As a general rule, the objective for a third label is the same as that one used for the second labels: To produce wines displaying some of the characteristics of their top-tier parents, but at a much more affordable rate. Not only that, but these are intended to be ‘now’ wines, meant for tonight’s dinner table rather than the cellar. It is a way for fans of the great estates to absorb some of the magic without having to attend an auction or spend the kids’ college fund to buy a wine that won’t even be ready to drink until they’ve already graduated college.

Among the third label wines offered in this all-inclusive 9-bottle set are 3 bottles of Légende R from the iconic Château Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) and 6 bottles of Moulin d’Issan from Château d’Issan (Margaux) for $275. Both labels represent the two Holy Grails of budget-minded Bordeaux lovers: Value and promise.

Château Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) First Growth

Although there were vineyards at Pauillac’s iconic estate long before Thomas Jefferson stopped by, it was his high regard for the property (coupled with the fact that it was King Louis XV’s favorite wine) that secured Lafite-Rothschild’s spot in the world’s wine stage. Boasting a unique terroir characterized by gravelly hilltops atop clay subsoil, Lafite’s vineyards offer natural drainage and ideal conditions for growing superior Cabernet Sauvignon. As is often the case when the stars align over a vineyard, vintage bottles of Lafite are among the priciest wines in the world, and even the second label, Carruades de Lafite, generally sells for hundreds of dollars. But the third label, Légende R, Pauillac 2014, is available for $42. According to Légende’s winemaker Diane Flamand, “Whether it is our Grand Vin, our Carruades, or Légende, the goal at Lafite is the same: We are after balance, elegance and structure.”

Légende R is created from select plots of younger vines on the Lafite estate, and vinified using both traditional Bordeaux technique and with the characteristic attention to detail. A spicy, white-pepper intensity rises from the glass, filled with layers of fig and red fruit and complemented by chocolate, licorice and roasted espresso beans. The wine is supple and full, rich with sweet plum and opulent cherry. Drinkable upon release, this is a ‘discovery’ wine that combines some of the most notable characteristics of its prestigious parent, but in a decidedly less concentrated package.

Château d’Issan (Margaux) Third Growth

Among the appellations of Bordeaux, Margaux is renowned for the elegant structure and velvety-soft flavors of its wine. Château d’Issan in particular benefits from a mild climate, gravelly soil and alluvial hills; perfect for creating wines exemplary of the region.

Geography is destiny, and nowhere is this more obvious than along the historic d’Issan path that passes heads toward the Gironde Estuary; the Margaux vineyards and the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation plots are contiguous, with the vines near the river rising from soil that is mainly clay and limestone, and therefore, well-suited to the Merlot. Like the famous Moulin Rouge dance hall in the 18th arrondissement, Château d’Issan’s third label, Moulin d’Issan, Bordeaux Supérieur 2018 ($22) takes its name from a windmill that still sits on the estate and where the wine is made. Merlot represents 90% of the composition, which makes it unique in Margaux, where wines are predominately Cabernet Sauvignon. Silken and sweet, the wine is gentle on the nose and shows tart cherry and raspberry with an underflow suggesting tobacco leaf and integrated chocolate notes. It’s mouth-filling and briefly luscious, offering the trademark Château d’Issan Margaux framework at a fraction of the cost.

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Posted on 2021.03.18 in France, Bordeaux