One of the quiet reasons the fine wine world is struggling is that there are simply too many great wines. This may sound counterintuitive, but the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes: so many bottles now overdeliver at their price point that some of the traditional powerhouses feel less essential. Plenty of cult labels, lacking true scarcity, raised their prices dramatically over the past decade—while some deserved the acclaim and rewards, others pushed their customers to look elsewhere. And that “elsewhere” has gotten so good, it’s hard to go back.

One of the Best Cellar Defenders: Bordeaux’s Château Dalem

There are so many incredible wines being made in the modern era of Bordeaux. From the 2016 to 2023 vintages, there’s no shortage of best-evers—we just need to give them some time. That’s where the cellar defenders come in: the great wines you open while the others age. These are the bottles you don’t have to think twice about pulling the cork on, but that are still good enough to deliver a remarkable fine wine experience.

Bordeaux, FranceRyan MosesJuly 18, 2025K&L Wine Merchantsklwines, chateau dalem, bordeaux, bordeaux 2019 vintage, 2019 chateau dalem, fronsac, ryan moses, wine review, bordeaux bargains

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