Château Le Bon Pasteur: Michel the Oenologist
The oenology laboratory was situated in Libourne, and was run by an aging couple who were looking for new blood to take on the business so that they could eventually retire. Michel and Dany Rolland were just what they were looking for, and they bought into the business in 1973, eventually taking on the business in its entirety three years later. And although Michel continued on as proprietor of his Pomerol estate, it is his parallel career as an oenologist for which he is best known. Before long Michel was consulting to dozens of Pomerol proprietors – many of whom had been using the laboratory for years, and continued to do so once Michel took the reins – and he quickly became woven into the very fabric of the appellation. It was the beginning of a journey that would eventually see Pomerol’s profile raised to previously unseen heights, and which would also see Michel Rolland establish an international reputation as a consultant.
Today Michel and Dany still run the laboratory, although it has since relocated to a position near Catusseau, well within the Pomerol appellation. Today Michel consults far and wide, not only within Bordeaux but in many foreign climes as well. He has been involved in the revitalisation of numerous properties, not only in Pomerol but on Bordeaux’s left bank as well, and he has helped established domaines and ventures on new continents, perhaps the most famous of which is Clos de los Siete, located at the foot of the Andes in Argentina. In this project Michel teamed up with a number of leading Bordeaux families, including the late Catherine Péré-Vergé of Château Le Gay, the Cuvelier family of Château Léoville-Poyferré, Benjamin Rothschild of Château Clarke, Laurent Dassault of Château Dassault and Jean-Jacques Bonnie of Château Malartic-Lagravière; all have their own wineries here, clustered together in one huge vineyard, but they also contribute to Michel’s wine, which is perhaps the most widely known of them all.
