The wine world lost one of its great figures last week with the passing of Michel Rolland, who died of a heart attack at his home in Bordeaux at the age of 78.
Born on Christmas Eve 1947 in Libourne, Michel grew up at his family’s estate, Château Le Bon Pasteur, in Pomerol. He studied oenology at the University of Bordeaux under Emile Peynaud, widely considered the father of modern wine consulting. It was there that he met Dany, his future wife and professional partner. The two graduated together and joined a laboratory in Libourne in 1973, eventually buying it outright and offering analyses and guidance to local winemakers. After his father’s passing in 1979, Michel took over Le Bon Pasteur.
The 1982 vintage marked his first great success at the estate, and by the mid-1980s he had begun consulting internationally, first in California, with his roster growing rapidly from there. At his peak, he was advising more than 150 estates across five continents, including properties in Napa Valley, Argentina, Italy, Chile, and throughout Bordeaux.
The criticism that followed Michel throughout his career was, in my view, largely without merit, and history will bear that out. The charge that he imposed a uniform style on wines from every corner of the world ignores a simple truth: his clients made wines that were dramatically different from one another. What they shared was not a flavor profile but a level of quality, and that quality was the direct result of his involvement. He was an incomparable blender, perhaps the most gifted of his generation, with a feel for fruit, terroir, and élevage that few have matched. He understood earlier than most that great wine begins in the vineyard, and that conviction influenced a generation of winemakers around the world.
Having known Michel for well over a decade, what struck me most about him was his combination of qualities that are so rare: enormous talent paired with genuine humility, real gravitas paired with warmth and kindness, and a love of wine that never felt like work. He was a bon vivant in the truest sense, someone who found joy in the glass, at the table, and in the company of the people around him. He also mentored young winemakers around the world, quietly and generously. Michel once wrote that “to be an expert taster requires two essential character traits: doubt and humility.” It is a line I have carried with me, and it says everything about who he was. For all his success and influence, he never lost either quality.
For all the noise that surrounded his name during the height of his fame, what I will carry forward is something simpler. Michel Rolland was a genuinely great human being, and every room he walked into was better for his presence.