Developing sourdough flavors through retarding dough
I think I asked this question before about a specific recipe but wanted to ask in generalities and get feedback from yall. I've recently read many sourdough recipes describing retarding dough after shaping in order to let the flavor develop. My question is: Do you think it matters if you let it go through it's bulk ferment then punch it down and retard the dough in the fridge for however long you want to develop flavor and then scale, shape and do a final rise? Or do you think it's important to scale and shape first then retard to allow flavor development.
I ask this because my dough usually rises some amount in the fridge before it chills down and so in essence, I'm flattening it again a little bit when I remove it and scale and shape for the final rise. So it will have gone throught 2-1/2 to 3 rises...
Opinions appreciated!