Have wines actually gotten that much better, or has grade inflation become as common among wine critics as it has among high-school personnel?

WSJ: Wine Ratings: Remaking the Grade | On Wine by Lettie Teague

Big harvests in 2000 and 2001, bolstered by loads of new high-grade grapes such as Kuleto's, have increased the supply of premium wine and pushed out marginal, low-end producers.

FORBES: Fine whine