SteveG
Posts: 788
Joined: 5/21/2008 From: Central Ohio Status: offline
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I am two perspectives on this topic. Considering just Bordeaux (and perhaps some California - I don't have this experience), there seems to be specific promotion from the estates that there is of course the flagship "Chateau" wine, and then there are seconds (or even thirds) which are supposed to reflect the house style and terroir, but which may be "less superior" but also cost less. I think this strategy reflects Brodeaux's peculiar history of blending grapes of different variety and geography into singular estate wines, unlike most every other region (excepting perhaps Chateauneuf du Pape, like Rayas/Pignan). In this situation, I am not surprised to hear that many folks don't think the seconds represent good value, rather I gather that they command a premium which is commensurate with the stature of their brand. Good as they may be, unless one really thinks that Lafite/Latour/Margaux regularly represent 'good value', why would one expect that of Carruades/Forts/Pavillon? More commonly, though, even the best producers offer more than one cuvee, and I at least expect the better ones to protect their brand by sorting and selecting, so for example in Barolo, Mascarello may have a hierarchy of wines which depending upon the vintage may share grapes from identical parcels/plants: Riserva Monprivato, Monprivato, Barolo riserva, Barolo, Langhe Nebbiolo. Certainly one expects quality differences, but these wines also serve different drinking situations, from everyday, large parties, and casual gatherings, to focused tastings, special celebrations, and indulgent dinners. I don't really think of these as good/better/best, I consider each to be a distinct product; if I am having spaghetti and meatballs, I would probably prefer the Langhe or regular Barolo, whereas if I really want to appreciate a great Piedmont wine I would probably pair it with a simple meat or risotto dish. Then there is the traditional German system where often several passes are made through the vineyard to harvest grapes as they ripen, then sorting them by quality and apparent sugar content for separate vinification. Sure, the "best" grapes might be said to go into the trockenbeerenauslese (and they charge for it too!), but pretty much all the producers make a spectrum of wines af varying ripeness, all the way down to an entry-level, non-vineyard-specific QbA (which makes a great wine to accompany sushi, for example). The German producers also really do declassify wines if they feel the harvest is just too rich to otherwise allow a normal selection of products, so in some years the auslese will be super-sweet, the kabinett will taste like spaetlese, and the basic bottling will be richer and sweeter. Anyhow, I think one might approach the question wine-by-wine and producer-by-producer, and recognize that sometimes the intent is to enhance the price of rather ordinary wines with a brand halo, while many other times the producer genuinely desires to market wines with differing profiles and price points.
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