DRINK DIFFERENT - SECOND WINES

This column usually explores alternatives to mainstream wines, but sometimes only the classics will do – for example, for some special occasion meals, it has to be a Claret.  But nowadays, unless you are a plutocrat, a Bordeaux from a top chateau, especially from a good year, will be out of reach.  A  bottle of 2009 Chateau Pichon-Lalande, a second growth neighbor of Lafite, will set you back around £150.

Fortunately, as ever there is an alternative.  Most big-name Bordeaux chateaux produce a ‘second wine’.  This is made at the same vineyards, usually from vines which have not yet reached the maturity to go into the grand vin.  So they have all the same characteristics of the big-name bottles, albeit with a little less intensity.

And the hit on your wallet is considerably lighter.  A bottle of 2009 Réserve de la Comtesse, second wine of the Pichon-Lalande I mentioned, will cost just £35.  A bargain!