Whether it’s climate change or “parkerization,” ABV% seems to be going up and staying up, even in relatively cooler years. I’ve noticed this as I’ve tasted around and find it fairly normal to see 12-13% ABV in wines up until the 2000s. Nowadays, top producers in both Bordeaux and Napa are routinely putting out wines at are 14.5-16% ABV
I personally find it really difficult to enjoy wines like this. Even if it’s a ripe year and there’s tons of tannin. My favorite activity is slowly nosing a wine and witnessing its evolution in the glass. With higher ABV wines I really feel like I’m sniffing through a wall of rubbing alcohol.
Are there high end producers that people like who still achieve lower ABV? Is that time gone? Do other people not mind it as much?
Lafite and Mouton (and some of their associated wines, especially Duhart-Milon, and to some degree Clerc Milon and d’Armailhac depending on the vintage) keep their abv down quite consistently. I would also include the Barton family wines in this, as well as a good selection of Cru Bourgeois.
I guess it depends what you mean by ‘high-end’, but there are a number of top-notch California producers whose wines routinely stay in the 12-14% range. Peay and Ceritas come to mind up here in Sonoma County, and further south, most if not all of the Au Bon Climat wines are still listed at 13.5%. If American winemakers weren’t so intolerant of green notes in their Cabernet, I suspect there would be more beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon in the 13% range, even here.
There are wine styles that are pretty much immune to this creep. Champagne is the best example in my mind. And in the world of reds, there are plenty of high-end producers out there - including in Bordeaux - making fully ripe wines but then partly dealcoholizing to keep the impacts of high alcohol in check. Whether or not you like this from a philosophical standpoint, it generally achieves the desired result.
This. Just had a delish 2020 Duhart Milon that was totally in check on alcohol, a pet peeve of mine as well. This is a frequent discussion on this wine board, and there are dozens of threads with many many recommendations. I like Eric’s calls.
You can also always go north, say Chinon and Saumur, for truly wonderful and normally lower-ABV Cab Francs.
This is the reason I started drinking (and loving) Riesling!
Guess it’s part of getting older, but anything over 13.5% is just not enjoyable anymore. All I taste is alcohol (with something resembling wine underneath).
If you’re willing to buy auction wines, a lot of the older reds (40+ years) can be as low as 12.5%. But your chances of getting a less-than-optimal bottle are pretty high.
