There's been some discussion in the past here about french wines labelled with grape varieties, e.g. cabernet sauvignon, etc. This -- I hold -- is not very common here, the AOC system being more followed.
Yet this morning in the supermarket I heard a woman bemoaning that she could not find the Merlot, nor the Syrah that she liked! First time I've ever heard a franco-francais(e) refer to wines this way, as opposed to by region or appellation.
I pointed her towards a libournais and a northern Rhone, after which we got into a discussion about where my "slight accent" (her words) was from, and naturally why wine had become so expensive. For her I think that meant over 5 eu. :)
So, perhaps there is a change afoot, slowly.
On another note, had a decent Gaillac "cuvee Sextant" (a coop wine I believe) '00 last night. A decent wine in the international style, balanced toasty oak, spicy nose and good fruit if a bit extracted. I'm guessing it was a decent value, not sure as it was a house gift.
-E