Question about vintages

I met you in DC this year at Lavandou when Ben Gilberti had a tasting among a number of us. It was a real fun evening and a pleasure to talk with you. [I brought the Legras 1996 Champagne and talked with you after the dinner about it.]

One thing I noticed in the tasting (and have noticed in tasting other Bordeaux of late) is that recently Bordeaux from good vintages tasted really good and sometimes better than wine from so-called great vintages. Historically, it has been the ripest vintages that have been considered to be the greatest vintages, but with better viticulture practices and global warming, I am wondering is some of the recent great vintages are almost too much of a good thing. While I have traditionally enjoyed the great vintages (although I have always loved your 1979), lately I have enjoyed more the balance of vintages like 2001, 2004 and 2006.

Am I nuts and just not seeing the potential in the recent great vintages or are we looking at a change in how to look at vintages?

I hope to see you again soon.

Dear Howard,

You probably meet Jean Louis Carbonnier, our North America rep.
Your point is very interesting: you just like traditional vintages better than extravagant ones!! And this is not new!! The 1947 vintage in Bordeaux was incredibly hot and a lot of wines (including the famous Cheval Blanc 1947) where just over the board: lot of alcool, super ripe aromas, very concentrated. I know old wine lovers who never liked them, just because they consider that a great bordeaux has to be balanced, fresh and elegant.
It is true that we had a lot of top vintages in a row but they very different: 2000 very classic, 2005 exuberant, 2009 full of charm, 2010 classic concentrated with an incredible tension.
We all have questions as far as the global warming is concerned. It will take time to understand…