A current buzz in the wine world is climate change and how is it affecting current vintages. It seems to be a reality that wines are becoming different from what those same properties used to produce. Perfect sites (like full south ones facing in Barbaresco) may be getting too much hot summer sun. Colder sites are now achieving better phenolic ripeness having turned into warmer sites than they ever used to. Brand new wine regions are appearing which previously were not ideal. The result is sort of like the old phylloxera epidemic where wines are once again undergoing major changes. This previous issue resulted in a demand for pre-phylloxera vines and wines. I suspect similiarly there will be a growing demand over the next few decades for well made balanced lower alcohol pre-climate change wines. Already there are so many old style treasures like 1945 Mouton, 1961 Palmer, and 1989 Haut-Brion from Bordeaux. Many red Burgundies from top vintages and producers like DRC and Rousseau are already increasing rapidly in value. Of course there are so many benchmark wines from nearly every wine producing country that are already in high demand. However, once consumers realize that the newer wines are excellent but are so very different from those older style ones which are diminishing in supply this will drive up the price of the latter as something unique. The key is to find wines from around the world that express this old style but are so well balanced to age and develop even further. Good project for the smart wine collector to seek these out while they are still reasonably priced! Let us know which wines you think qualify.
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