Not in 2012!
The time I worked in winemaking in the region was interesting as I worked in one of the very first plants to start what we then called "technological wine" as opposed to traditional productions. Methods were copied from California and Australia and we had Australian winemakers coming and teach us. Basically we were manufacturing a taste based on marketing studies carried out on the markets we were targeting. With that kind of wine the final taste depends much more on whatever products are added in the tank than on the location, quantity of rain and sun grapes received during that year. This was the period when part of the region shifted from "terroir" to "sepage". No need to say technological wine production was met with a lot of resistance locally as it was considered as betraying traditions. However, this was a question of survival, as Californian and Australian wines were hitting the international markets and were doing very well, as they were offering clients a stable and repeatable taste that went by the sepage (chardonnay, sauvignon etc.) rather than a region and a year which was more confusing for the average international consumer. As a result the region was in crisis. This, and saying that production was aimed at export eased local resistance. Targeted market was mainly the UK, and taste was adapted to it, with a final product a bit sweeter than what traditional local production were. Today, these methods have generalized, apart from high end wines where "terroir" and year remain important. It is still used for niche markets, mainly connaisseurs who look for traditional wines.
