There’s an easy solution to this that I’m almost scared to offer:
Drink Italian wine instead. Duh.
I’m scared to offer this “solution” as it concerns me to think that the international consumers in the US and China who are driving the costs of these old saw wines through the roof are going to discover Piemonte and Tuscany and other regions as acceptable alternatives for their snotty snootery and one-up-manship and start driving prices exorbitantly high for the great value Italian bottles more people should be trying. Italian wine is far more democratic and accessible, so that probably won’t happen as scarcity isn’t the same issue there…but still.