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 His peers consider Michel
Rolland to be one of the most influential winemakers in the field. (Many would
argue the most influential.) A graduate of the venerable Bordeaux Faculty of
Oenology, Rolland continues to build upon this practical font of knowledge
through observations in his own laboratory in Pomerol, France. He consults for
over 100 vintners and vineyards on every continent. Stellar wines aging in the
cellars of many world-class estates are styled in what is now called the
“Rolland Method.”
Rolland also maintains partnership interests in far-flung regions of the globe,
including his winery at Long Shadows. His home, however, is in Pomerol, where
he owns and manages a number of holdings quite familiar to reviewers of fine
wines: Chateau Le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol, Chateau Bertineau Saint-Vincent in
Lalande-de-Pomerol, Chateau Rolland-Maillet in Saint-Emilion, and Chateau
Fontenil in Fronsac. In addition, he manages the Chateau La Grande Clotee in
Lussac-Saint-Emilion under a vineyard lease system.
Vineyard management techniques championed by Rolland include effeullage
(thinning of leaves), and eclaircissage (pruning of clusters), both used to
encourage the advent of perfectly ripened grapes. Aging on the lees in new oak
barrels and in-barrel malolactic fermentation are also Rolland’s trademarks.
However, those who view the “Rolland Method” as a craftsman’s book of recipes
have missed the mark. Rolland is not a technician – he is, first and foremost,
an observer. He studies the surround, that is, the blend of
personality traits that distinguishes the vintner, the vineyard, and the
grower. In uncanny fashion, Rolland understands the unique culture of the wine
- and therefore the nuances that separate an uneventful wine from something
quite exciting. It is this ability to understand the wine that makes him the
oenologist extraordinaire that he is, and a legend in his time.
Michel and his wife, Dany (a qualified enologist in her own right), live in
Pomerol. Although usually winging his way to a vineyard in some far corner of
the world, he makes a point of returning home each year to celebrate the
birthdays of his two daughters, Marie and Stephanie.
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