after watching this video, I was persuaded to open a bottle of 2017 Le Petit Clos last night - wow, looking for more now. It was exactly what I enjoy in a blend. Fantastic wine and a steal at the price. Thanks again.
Great presentation Matthew - thank you. I have the Comtessa de Lalande 2018 in the cellar and recently bought her second, the Reserve 2018 - really impressed. If I remember, paid around $50 for the Reserve and went back and bought another 6 bottles of the '18 Reserve as it was so pleasant to drink. Cheers once again!
Great video! I miss the days i was buying Vale Meão for 65€....the good old days😊 Im not a fan of Clos Apalta but Domaine de Chevalier is usually a favorite in bordeaux....sadly is going over the 100 euro mark lately.
First of all, that was a hell of a tasting, and I was hoping you would do something like that for a while. But you ruined my day...I'm here getting more than 100 appointments a day in a Dengue outbreak and you are knocking down great wine after great wine?!That's unfair!!! 2019 Meandro was one of the best wines I had last year - and it's one of the few wines I buy every vintage. I'm probably never drinking their first wine in my life (but if I get crazy one day, that's the crazy-expensive wine I'm buying), but my mom brought the Touriga Nacional single variety from this Quinta, and she is now my favorite parent without a doubt. All of these second wines are on my list, and San Leonardo I already bought. I love second and third wines! In case of Rioja and Ribera del Duero (and Douro!), I love third and fourth wines as well. Sometimes more than the more expensive ones.
Agree with you, the Douro Valley is the most striking wine region I have seen. An incredible place, vast & iconic. We have a similar palate, enjoying your reviews.
Great video! I organized a similar little blind tasting for my parents and sister recently. They are cheaper/less known reds from Pessac Léognan (their white is very good as well, btw). The Château Brown 2020 (~36$) and Le Colombier de Brown 2019 (~24$). The 1st wine felt a little too young still (great potential, though), but the second one was really showing and my mother and I liked it better. The thing was though: the blend was not the same. The 1st had 53% CS, 45% Merlot & 2% PV; the Colombier had way more Merlot: 79% (and 21% CS). The difference in the vintage is certainly a parameter, but the blend is also an important one. In any case, it's a great exercise that I recommend! Cheers!
Just brought the Clos Apalta and the Petit Clos 2019 to my tasting group! Funny how it was 50:50 in what people preferred! Amazing wines! Especially the le Petit Clos as you can find it in supermarkets for as low as 30 Euros 😌😌😌
I'm a fan of second wines from both Pichon properties. Another commenter recommended Comtesse Reserve (as can I). And I would include Les Griffons from Pichon Baron (usually about 50-50 cab and merlot) over the "other" second PB wine, Les Tourelles which is merlot based. Both around $50. They make great cellar defenders. C de Carmes Haut Brion and Marquis de Calon Segur are also good.
An interesting comparison tasting! Well done! Chevalier and Clos Apalta are both excellent producers that I have featured as well. Of course, the second wines are designed to be enjoyed much younger and while the top wines are aging so it is not surprising that they would show well in their youth and be better relative values for those interested in enjoying them early on. As you point out in response to a comment below, many of the top wines won't peak for 10 years (and in many instances more than that for top Bordeaux producers including Pichon Lalande). The 2010 Pichon Lalande is nowhere near ready to drink, for example.
I had the 2018 Reserve Comtesse the other night. Delicious! Not what i was expecting tho. Quite rich. Iron. Had sort of a southern Napa valley thing going on At less than $60, I was perfectly happy. Ridge Estate Cab is a great substitute if you’re craving monte bello, but don’t want to spend quite those prices (still a relative bargain as far as BDX blends go, however, in my opinion!!) and dont want to wait ages for maturity
Thank you for posting this tasting. Recently I have been searching for second wines and more recent Grand Cru's from Bordeaux and Burgundy to replace the older vintage wines that I enjoyed from Napa, Sonoma and Bordeaux. This is a great journey finding great quality and value that you can potentially buy multiples of and enjoy as the years pass. These cellar defenders end up representing themselves down the road. 🍷
I love the Le Petit Clos, what value for money! And I discovered the Meandro 15 years ago(had to buy it from Macau!!). Best second wine I have tasted recently is the La Dame de Montrose, 2010. As to how much the second wines have exploded in price,... I bought half a case of the Carruades Lafite 1996(first wine was wine of the vintage) for GBP 20 per bottle!!! Amazing
2019 is excellent in Italy and all of Europe. In that particular case though I don’t consider that to be an official second wind, the Estate classifies it as such but it’s really a totally different Wine all together
I think the 2.nd wines have become to expensive. Carruades de Lafite is same price as Ch. Palmer, or two bottles of Pontet Canet or Domaine du Chevalier!! It has completely run away, i will always prefer a good value first wine.
Awesome! Thanks man, I was waiting for a review on this wine since forever! It's really great to watch content about fine Portuguese wine. A lot of people do make reviews on Portuguese wine, but the majority focus on the budget wines. Having a proper portuguese wine being reviewed it's really good, appreciate it man! Cheers
Hi Matthew, i saw you last video and i want to say some wines of a winery who gonna explode this year, i tell you some time ago Bodegas Cerron, Mr Tim Atkins give to their wine's this month a espectacular points, their white wine 100 points, and their 2º red wine 98points los yesares, well we have a cuota whit their yesares wine only do 1000 bottles past years they only do 600 bottles well you can't buy that wine if you are not part of the quota or you can buy in some restaurants like (Las Esparteras) i think that wine are really your jam. If you can find it for sure you will love it.
It was a very good and interesting tasting. As well the countries were outstanding. Chile, Portugal, France and Italy. It would be cool and interesting as well a tasting from the regions which are seperated through a border. For example the Douro River. In spain Ribera del Duero and Portugal the Douro Valley.
IMHO, 2nd label and 2nd wine are different in some cases: the fruits come from different vineyards (Carruades de Lafite for example) = 2nd label, from the same vineyards but less quality or younger vines = 2nd wine. Also, 1 theory is that in difficult vintages, more portion of fruits and sometimes from the premier vineyards that normally go to the 1st label end up to the 2nd wine, so the 2nd wine in difficult vintages can be better than the same 2nd wines in good vintages. As I don't have enough experience with 2nd wines in general, I can't reach the conclusion one way or another. But theoretically, it makes sense.
One of the second wines that really impressed me was the second wine of Calon-Segur, the Le Marquis de Calon-Segur. I’ve had both, and for the price to quality ratio, I’d go with the second. The second of Ducru Beaucaillou is fantastic also, but definitely not cheap 😄
Excellent and enjoyable review as always. Second wine or even a cheaper wine from a top producer can be very productive. Many well regarded producers of top class wines usually make excellent cheaper wine also and it goes, without saying, that they are better value. In Spain, some of these producers even make inexpensive wine in unfashionable or less regarded wine regions but with the same attention to detail. The result is excellent value wine but not known to many people.
2nd wines are as John said “cellar defenders”. And they are great choices for restaurant wines. My wife loves Sauternes and Barsac and we so we drink lots of Climens 2nd and Carmes de Rieussec Great subject.
For classic Bordeaux style wines, if you drink them around 6-10 years of age, they can sometimes be closed down or in an awkward stage, so the second wine will show better. I also figure that if the second wine is just younger vines, those younger vines eventually start to mature and get better. Perhaps at some point they start using them for the Grand Vin too. Obviously the greatness of the vintage and yields play a role with some years giving a lot of extra high quality fruit that they can't all put in the Grand Vin.
Hi there, fantastic video, please try ornellaia v serre nuove. Serre nuove incredible 2nd wine for me. Unfortunately already around 60 euros per bottle. Ornellaia 3 to 4 time that
For Pete's sake, you Americans should put more effort in pronounciation ;) Roth's child? BTW - great video and very wise selection. Chevalier - top notch!
