and Yacochuya and Clos de los Siete in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

Education and early career

Born into a wine making family, Rolland grew up on the family's estate Château Le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol

Pomerol

Pomerol is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.It is located near Bordeaux.-Population:-Wine:The mostly small-sized producers in this area of about produce red wines. As in the neighbouring appellation of Saint-Émilion, the predominant grape variety is Merlot,...

. After high school, Rolland enrolled at Tour Blanche Viticultural and Oenology school in Bordeaux with his father's encouragement. Excelling in his studies, he was one of five student chosen by director Jean-Pierre Navarre to evaluate the program's quality against that of the prestigious Bordeaux Oenology Institute. Rolland later enrolled in the Institute, where he met his wife and fellow oenologist, Dany Rolland, and graduated as part of the class of 1972.

At the Institute, Michel Rolland studied under the tutelage of renowned oenologists Pierre Sudraud, Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon, Jean Ribéreau-Gayon, and Émile Peynaud. Rolland has said these men were a great influence upon him and considers them the "Fathers of Modern Oenology."

In 1973, Rolland and his wife bought into an oenology lab on the Right Bank of Bordeaux in the town of Libourne. They took over full control of the lab in 1976 and expanded it to include tasting rooms. By 2006 the Rolland's lab employed 8 full time technicians, analyzing samples from nearly 800 wine estates in France each year. Rolland's two daughters, Stéphanie & Marie, also work at the lab.

Michel Rolland's first clients included the Bordeaux Châteaux Troplong Mondot

Château Troplong Mondot

Château Troplong Mondot is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...

, Angélus

Château Angélus

Château Angélus, until 1990 known as Château L'Angélus, or simply L'Angélus, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...

, and Beau-Séjour Bécot

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot

Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, formerly Château Beauséjour-Dr-Fagouet, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...

. An early setback was the loss of two Saint-Émilion first growths

Classification of Saint-Émilion wine

In 1955 the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Medoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the...

, Château Canon

Château Canon (Saint-Émilion)

Château Canon, originally Clos St-Martin, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...

 and Château La Gaffelière

Château La Gaffelière

Château La Gaffelière, previously Château Gaffelière-Naudes, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...

, due to conflict in style with the owners and Rolland. According the Rolland, the loss "calmed him down" and brought him out of an awkward stage in his early career. Twenty years later, the two chateaux returned to be part of the more than 100 wineries who employ Michel Rolland as their consultant.

In his book Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution, William Echikson writes that before Michel Rolland became consultant to Château Lascombes

Château Lascombes

Château Lascombes is a winery in the Margaux appellation of the Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced here was classified as one of fifteen Seconds Crus in the original Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855...

, it "produced about 500,000 bottles of mediocre wine, about half of which was sold not as Lascombes itself, but as the inferior Chevalier de Lascombes." Today, Echikson contends, that even the Chevalier (the second wine

Second wine

Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...

 of the estate) is better than the old full-fledged Lascombes.

Media exposure

Rolland features prominently in the critical 2004 documentary Mondovino

Mondovino

Mondovino is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter...

by Jonathan Nossiter

Jonathan Nossiter

Jonathan Nossiter is an American filmmaker. Son of Washington Post and New York Times foreign correspondent Bernard Nossiter, he was born in the United States in 1961. He was raised in France, England, Italy, Greece and India...

 as an agent of wine globalization

Globalization of wine

"Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of...

. In Mondovino, Rolland is seen on several occasions advising his clients to microoxygenate

Microoxygenation

Micro-oxygenation is a process used in winemaking to introduce oxygen into wine in a controlled manner. Developed in 1991 by Patrick DuCournau, working with the exceptionally tannic grape Tannat in Madiran, the process gained usage in modern winemaking following the 1996 authorization by the...

 their wines, including a scene at Château Le Gay in Bordeaux. Since the film, Rolland has said that he is "not a fan of microoxygenation. The film suggests I am. Some of my clients inquire about it. It can help in special conditions — if the tannins are fierce or hard, micro-oxygenation can make them softer and rounder. In certain countries with certain terroir, like Chile or Argentina, I may use it." James Suckling

James Suckling

James Suckling is an American wine and cigar critic and former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator as well as European Editor of Cigar Aficionado...

, formerly of Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces...

, notes in an article about Rolland that "He is not a proponent of micro-oxidation in wine-making as some suggest, and never has been".

Rolland is among the wine personalities satirised

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 next to Robert Parker in the 2010 bande dessinée comic book

Franco-Belgian comics

Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...

, Robert Parker: Les Sept Pêchés capiteux.

Influence

From his consulting work and media presence, Michel Rolland has influenced many aspects of both the French and global wine industry. Among the prominent wine personalities that have been influenced by Rolland is the Rhone wine producer Jean-Luc Colombo.

Bordeaux vineyards under Rolland influence

Rolland holds decisive roles (such as owner, cellar master, oenologist, consultant) in a number of vineyards in Bordeaux. These include :
Angélus, St-Emilion GC; Armens, St-Emilion GC; Ausone, St-Emilion GC; Beauregard, Pomerol; Bellefont-Belcier, St-Emilion GC; Bellevue Mondotte, St-Emilion GC; Blason de l'Evangile, Pomerol; le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol; Bonalgue, Pomerol; Branas Grand Poujeaux, Moulis; Brillette, Moulis; de Camensac, Haut-Médoc; Cap de Faugères, Côtes de Castillon; Certan de May de Certan, Pomerol; Chapelle d'Ausone, St-Emilion GC; Clarke, Listrac-Médoc; la Clémence, Pomerol; Clément-Pichon, Haut-Médoc; Clinet, Pomerol; Clos des Jacobins, St-Emilion GC; Clos du Clocher, Pomerol; Clos l'Eglise, Pomerol; Clos les Lunelles, Côtes de Castillon; Clos Saint-Martin, St-Emilion GC; la Commanderie de Mazeyres, Pomerol; Corbin, St-Emilion GC; Côte de Baleau, St-Emilion GC; la Couspaude, St-Emilion GC; le Crock, St-Estèphe; Croix de Labrie, St-Emilion GC; Destieux, St-Emilion GC; Destieux, St-Emilion GC; la Dominique, St-Emilion GC; l'Evangile, Pomerol; Faugères, St-Emilion GC; Faugères Cuvée Péby, St-Emilion GC; la Fleur de Boüard, Lalande de Pomerol; la Fleur de Gay, Pomerol; Fombrauge, St-Emilion GC; Fontenil, Fronsac; Franc-Mayne, St-Emilion GC; la Garde, Pessac-Léognan; le Gay, Pomerol; Giscours, Margaux; Grand Mayne, St-Emilion GC; Grand Ormeau, Lalande de Pomerol; Grand-Pontet, St-Emilion GC; les Grandes Murailles, St-Emilion GC; les Grands Chênes, Médoc; la Gravière, Lalande de Pomerol; Jean de Gué, Lalande de Pomerol; Kirwan, Margaux; Larmande, St-Emilion GC; Larrivet-Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan; Lascombes, Margaux; Latour-Martillac, Pessac-Léognan; Léoville-Poyferré, St-Julien; Loudenne, Médoc; Magrez-Fombrauge, St-Emilion GC; Malartic-Lagravière, Pessac-Léognan; Malescot-Saint-Exupéry, Margaux; Monbousquet, St-Emilion GC; Pape Clément, Pessac-Léognan; Pavie, St-Emilion GC; Péby Faugères, St-Emilion GC; Petit Village, Pomerol; Phélan-Ségur, St-Estèphe; le Plus de la Fleur de Boüard, Lalande de Pomerol; Pontet-Canet, Pauillac; Ripeau, St-Emilion GC; Rochebelle, St-Emilion GC; Rouget, Pomerol; la Sérénité, Pessac-Léognan; Smith Haut Lafitte, Pessac-Léognan; la Tour-Carnet, Haut-Médoc; Troplong-Mondot, St-Emilion GC; de Valandraud, St-Emilion GC; la Violette, Pomerol; Virginie de Valandraud, St-Emilion GC;

Sources

• Echikson, William. Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution. NY: W.W.Norton, 2004.
• Robinson, Jancis (Editor) The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1999

Footnotes