Reserve is a term liberally used by wine producers for various bottlings. It should be quite literally reserved itself, for superior wines, but, unlike reserva and riserva, the English term Reserve has few controls on its use. Some wineries release several bottlings, all of which may incorporate the word in their names (Proprietor’s Reserve, Estate Reserve, Reserve Selection, Private Reserve, Vintner’s Reserve, and the like). The French term is Réserve and there are moves to control the use of terms such as Cuvée de Réserve. In champagne, reserve wines are those held over from a given year for future blending, typically into the non-vintage cuvée.
