Wine Labs Research · Bordeaux / Second wines / Wine prices
Bordeaux second wines vs grand vins: prices by vintage
Published . US merchant prices extracted 4 November 2026. Single 750ml bottles, USD before sales tax and shipping.
The second wines in this sample cost a median 67.3% less than their grand vins in the same vintage. We compared 19 estate-vintage pairs across Lafite Rothschild, Château Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Château Montrose.
Every comparison uses US merchant prices for both labels, with at least three independent merchant groups behind each price. Comparing the same year matters: a recent second wine against a much older grand vin would mix two different questions.
The price gap is a useful starting point for a budget. It does not say the wines taste the same or that the cheaper label offers the same quality.
67.3%
Median same-vintage price reduction
19
Matched estate-vintage pairs
4
Estates compared
3+
Independent merchant groups per price
The same-vintage price comparison
The table shows the median of merchant-group prices, rather than the cheapest advert we could find. Each merchant group gets one price before the market median is calculated, so branches and repeat listings do not get extra votes.
We checked the 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 vintages. One Montrose vintage did not have enough second-wine coverage, leaving 19 comparisons. Prices are snapshots; open either wine page to check current offers for that vintage.
4 November 2026. US merchant medians in USD, before sales tax and shipping. Brackets show independent merchant-group counts.
The gap differs between estates
La Dame de Montrose shows the largest typical percentage gap in this four-estate sample. The other three second wines also cost less in every matched vintage. Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild in 2019 has the smallest gap, at 55.7%.
These are medians of the price reductions for the matched vintages at each estate. They are not a comparison of the estates’ entire portfolios, and an estate with fewer qualifying vintages has a smaller sample.
Median same-vintage price reduction by estate
Second-wine price below its grand vin, using matched US 750ml merchant medians. Five vintages per estate except Montrose, which has four.
What the 2022 bottles cost
The 2022 vintage gives a direct view of the price difference for a single year. Each pair below has the same bottle size and US market basis. A price comparison still leaves the drinking decision to you.
Grand vin and second wine prices: 2022
US merchant medians, single 750ml bottles, before sales tax and shipping.
What is a Bordeaux second wine?
A second wine is a separate label made by an estate alongside its grand vin. The estate decides how to select and blend it. The producer pages below explain the particular relationship for each pair in this study.
The name alone is not enough. Pavillon Rouge is the second red wine in this comparison; Pavillon Blanc is a different wine. Similarly, a separately owned property in a château’s portfolio is not automatically its second wine.
The four pairs in this study, verified against estate sources.
| Estate | Grand vin | Second wine |
|---|---|---|
| Lafite Rothschild | Château Lafite Rothschild | Carruades de Lafite |
| Château Margaux | Château Margaux | Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux |
| Mouton Rothschild | Château Mouton Rothschild | Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild |
| Château Montrose | Château Montrose | La Dame de Montrose |
Choosing within a budget
Compare the exact vintage, bottle size and merchant terms first. Then consider what you want to drink and when. A smaller percentage gap can still mean a large cash difference on an expensive bottle.
If your ceiling is $100, the Bordeaux value guide offers a broader set of labels. This study asks a narrower question: how the named second wine is priced against its own grand vin.
Questions
How much cheaper are Bordeaux second wines?
In this four-estate US sample, the second wine costs a median 67.3% less than its grand vin in the same vintage. There are 19 matched comparisons; this is not an average for all Bordeaux second wines.
Is Pavillon Rouge the same wine as Château Margaux?
No. Pavillon Rouge du Château Margaux is the estate’s second red wine, with a separate selection and blend. This report compares its price with the grand vin; it does not treat them as interchangeable bottles.
Are second wines always below $100?
No. Several second wines in this sample cost more than $100. Second wine describes the label’s relationship to the estate, not a price category.
Use this research
Download the main comparison table or the headline chart. When citing a finding, include the data date and link to this report so readers can check the sample and method.
Download the comparison table (CSV)Download the credited chart (SVG)
Suggested citation: Wine Labs (2026). Bordeaux second wines vs grand vins: prices by vintage. Published 4 November 2026. https://winelabs.ai/insights/bordeaux-second-wines-prices
Sources and method
Read-only Wine Labs merchant snapshot extracted 2026-11-04T15:51:37.546Z. The roster was fixed before comparing prices: four verified estate pairs and five vintages, with at least 3 independent merchant groups per wine-vintage. The 19 qualifying pairs are not a census of Bordeaux second wines.
Offers must be from US wine merchants, quoted in USD and checked within seven days. We keep standard single 750ml bottles, exclude conflicting stated sizes, cases, pre-arrival/en-primeur, auctions, in-bond and request-only offers, and remove outlier flags and non-standard condition codes. Listings without a reported quantity count as offered for sale; explicit zero or unavailable stock does not.
Repeated source IDs are collapsed to the preferred latest source record before eligibility checks. Merchant branches are grouped by chain where available, then website domain, then merchant ID. We take a median within each merchant group, then a median across groups. Source matching and undisclosed relationships between sellers can still leave errors.
Price reduction = 100 × (grand vin median − second-wine median) ÷ grand vin median, separately for the same vintage and country. The headline is the median of those reductions, not the percentage difference between two pooled portfolio medians. These are calculated benchmarks, not individual offers guaranteed at checkout.
Prices are stored USD retail values before US sales tax. Shipping, import costs, storage, provenance and differences between individual bottles are outside the comparison. The extract does not certify merchant tax labelling or stock fulfilment.