A close-up of the "Gallic Syndrome"...

I posted on it a while back, warning of what I think are signs that point to a similar situation to take place here in California - most notably in Napa...though it could strike anywhere when a few top end wineries get astronomical prices and prestige while the vast majority of very good producers see a shrinking market price, perhaps even lessened market presence due to imports which offer more consumer satisfaction, all the while prices for cost of living, land and materiels continue to skyrocket...
[Gallic Syndrome post]

You can somewhat see what the effects are in Bordeaux in the following article: A tale of two Bordeaux (SFGate.com)
As they say in the intro to the piece, of key importance is the struggle of the everyday producer to remain relevant...

"Although the region's top names are still able to command stratospheric prices, many of their fellow vintners have been left in the dust...Peter M. F. Sichel, who has been a prominent figure in the Bordeaux trade for the last 40 years, believes that money has distorted the market. An increasingly wealthy upper class from around the world is pouring money into the market for top names and virtually ignoring smaller properties.

"There are really two Bordeaux now," Sichel says. "One hundred or so chateaus (less than 5 percent of all properties) are doing exceptionally well, and everyone else is struggling." "

How have they fallen flat?

By NOT simplifying their AOC system, adopting varietal labeling, and by NOT figuring a way to brand themselves as a group outside of the 1855 Classification system...

Meanwhile, the top end producers - a group smitten with the 2000% price increase in some of the top priced wines over the past decades - allow avarice to dictate wild prices even when the harvest is of lesser quality (as was 2006 vs 2005)...

This all ties into where Napa is headed. More castles, micro-cru producers with wads of cash from other sectors driving land prices thru the roof...all just to make their individual 500 cases of cult wine which the average Joe would never be able to purchase. And while we don't have many of the problems the French do have, the path into the same trap appears to be well under foot right now, and we - much like the French already have - seem to be embarking on a trek that will split the industry into those who can get $500/btl, and those who cannot...

As they say, the path to Hell is an easy one...

Of course, this will lead to bargain prices for those US companies which can import French negociant wines (notably Pinot Noir) in bulk, bottle it here, and bring it to market for far less than the French producers can themselves...and...

...AND avoid the problem France faces by bottling it in a region where varietal labeling and branding are "old hat".