On of the advantages of getting old (like Steve) is that we have memories. For me that includes buying wines starting when I was in grad school in the Bay Area.
Wine prices, especially great French wines, have increased much more than inflation over the years. I started buying French wines (and some California wines, being in California) in the late 1960's. I just checked and $1 at that time is currently worth about $6. So here are some of the wines I bought (and eventually drank) during that time. Multiply by 6 to get the current price with inflation.
Ch. Haut-Brion 1966 $6
Chambertin Clos de Beze 1964 $5
Latrecieres Chambertin 1964 or 1966 $3.50
Corton Charlemagne 1966 $15 at a restaurant
Lots of Second Growth Bordeaux - Leoville Las Cases, Cos D'Estournel, Montrose, Pichon Comtesse, Pichon Baron, La Gaffliere, Brane-Cantenac 1966 and some 1964 and 1962 $3-3.50
Ch. Margaux 1961 (most expensive wine I bought then) $8.95 (didn't buy a Lafite 1961 for $14.95, too expensive)
Vintage Port - Dow 1927 $35 (8 of us chipped in to share one bottle)
When we got married in December 1970, my grad school roommates chipped in and bought a case (12 bottles) of Ch. Latour futures for $140 for the case - still have four bottles.
My college roommates splurged and bought us 1 bottle of Ch. Lafite 1959 (the wine of the century at that time) for $50
Somewhere around that time, I stumbled upon an old bottle in a local wine store - 1948 Ch. Petrus - it was around $10.
When my wife began her first paying job as an intern in 1973, she used part of her paycheck to buy gifts for her parents and me. I picked out two bottles of wine, La Tache 1967 (not a great year, but it was La Tache) $15 each.
As I mentioned in a previous post, health problems don't allow me to drink alcohol these days, but I do have great memories.
Larry