Rolland's rant

[jcoley3]

Domaine Montpertuis = Cambie Spoof Juice! Since 1999…

[Robert.A.Jr]

@jcoley3

@Robert Alfert

@jcoley3

It is very simple, and eminently fashionable, to dismiss anything Rolland or Cambie has done anywhere. The reality is, as Mr. Gilman points out, much more nuanced.

But pretending otherwise certainly wins applause in certain circles.

Awesome, I love being simple, fashionable and a pretender! It gets one a golf clap!

It certainly does. No doubt you have actually talked to producers who have worked with consultants and asked what they were looking for in the conversations, and what advice they took and what they modified and what they ignored?

One-size-fits-all, especially when looking for Internet points!

Didn’t realize you were ITB, so what Rolland and Cambie wines do you sell?

[Richard_T_r_i_m_p_i]

Not being particularly knowledgeable in this area, what exactly does Rolland do for most of his clients?

He seems to have been stereotyped and vilified for helping Bordeaux producers alter their style in pursuit of more “modern characteristics” (i.e.: ripeness and new oak) and gaining Parker points.

Is this not the main crux of his business? If not…what is?

RT

[Keith_Levenberg]

@jcoley3

It is very simple, and eminently fashionable, to dismiss anything Rolland or Cambie has done anywhere. The reality is, as Mr. Gilman points out, much more nuanced.

But pretending otherwise certainly wins applause in certain circles.

Who pretended otherwise?

[David_Bu3ker]

Tryba, Alfert, etc.

[Robert.A.Jr]

@D@vid Bu3ker

Tryba, Alfert, etc.

Hey, how do the cool kids Adrian and Keith get away with this terrible charade!

See their posts above, same vein.

Sheez, even Gillman rated 2010 Pavie a whopping range of 47-52 pts. Personally, I think Pavie is better than that.

[Chris_Blum]

“Get off my manicured, perfectly edged, dark green, fertilized, weed-free lawn.”

[A_So]

I don’t know what wines Rolland makes or doesn’t make. I don’t venture outside a few Chateaux in Bordeaux anyway. All I know is when a wine tastes like absolute shit, e.g. modern Pavie or Pape Clement, Rolland has been involved. He may be involved in some estates whose wines are not garbage, but I don’t care enough to find out.

[A_So]

@Robert Alfert

@D@vid Bu3ker

Tryba, Alfert, etc.

Hey, how do the cool kids Adrian and Keith get away with this terrible charade!

See their posts above, same vein.

Sheez, even Gillman rated 2010 Pavie a whopping range of 47-52 pts. Personally, I think Pavie is better than that.

That’s some bottom-of-the-barrel trash score right there. Never had the 2010 version of this “wine”, but I bet there’s more bottom of the barrel in that bottle than wine.

[jcoley3]

@Robert Alfert

@jcoley3

@Robert Alfert

Awesome, I love being simple, fashionable and a pretender! It gets one a golf clap!

It certainly does. No doubt you have actually talked to producers who have worked with consultants and asked what they were looking for in the conversations, and what advice they took and what they modified and what they ignored?

One-size-fits-all, especially when looking for Internet points!

Didn’t realize you were ITB, so what Rolland and Cambie wines do you sell?

Oh, God, Robert, please. I’ve been posting on wine boards since 2002. Always with ITB in the signature. Do a search online and see how many of their wines you see me selling.

This is in honor of your “OMG you’re ITB post!”

THE WORST SOCCER FLOPS (Futbol)

[Andrew_Ward]

It was frankly a ridiculous tirade from a guy who whatever the merits of his wines has always come across to me as a supercilious bully. At the base of it I think the issue is that there has been a lot of grumbling, cynicism and the rest about the whole en primeur, bordeaux business gravy train - and a lot of writers deciding not to go, starting to question the value of barrel samples. For me it became evident that there was less interest in the trade because a mate of mine here in Madrid who is ITB (I am not) had the chance to go, something which was unimaginable a few years ago, and you also see purist bloggers who used to pillory the whole exercise going, probably because this time they were invited (which for me is revealing). I don’t drink that much Bordeaux and it tends to be low noughties from before I stopped buying but there are some really great wines.

[GregT]

I’m still wondering what and whom he is so angry at. Nobody has identified it yet in this thread.

Not anyone in this thread!

Near as I can tell, it’s nobody writing in English. There was rain in September and some humidity, so there was some rot in some areas. But overall it was supposed to be pretty warm and Decanter, Spurrier, Robinson and the US-side critics all said it was really good to great. Rolland said that the vintage was the ripest since 2010 and was great. Suckling of course said it was great - what else would he say? Some French critics, after tasting en primeur, apparently said that the vintage was uneven - I’m not sure who. Actually someone writing in Decanter mentioned that too, but I don’t think that’s unusual. Anyway, Rolland is most likely talking about the French critics, not the English-speaking ones.

Here’s his take on the vintage:

Michel Rolland (winemaker) speaks about the 2015 vintage

[Jurgen_Steinke]

Superb wine does´t emerge from the hottest and driest vintages. If this would be the case 2003 would have been the best vintage at all. I think JF Mugnier gave a wise answer. He said he prefers vintages with moderate climate conditions when the fruit can hang a long time without getting overripe.

I would add: No rainfall the last 2 weeks before the harvest, cool nights, warm and sunny days, no heat in Sept./Oct. Result: No stress for the vines and no stress for the winemaker. Healthy fruit with a lot of flavor, sweetness and acid. Wines with superb balance and moderate alcohol (13% to 14%).

That´s a perfect wine IMO.

[Pat_Martin]

@Jürgen Steinke

Superb wine does´t emerge from the hottest and driest vintages. If this would be the case 2003 would have been the best vintage at all. I think JF Mugnier gave a wise answer. He said he prefers vintages with moderate climate conditions when the fruit can hang a long time without getting overripe.

I would add: No rainfall the last 2 weeks before the harvest, cool nights, warm and sunny days, no heat in Sept./Oct. Result: No stress for the vines and no stress for the winemaker. Healthy fruit with a lot of flavor, sweetness and acid. Wines with superb balance and moderate alcohol (13% to 14%).

That´s a perfect wine IMO.

This sounds like an ideal vintage to me. What comes close to that of late, maybe 2005?

[Mel_Knox]

I find this confusing as, for example, both Parker and Jancis give 2015 pretty high notes.

I have heard great things about 2016 in Bordeaux from friends of mine in the barrel business as well as from Bill Blatch, so maybe Rolland is worried that 2015 will get lost in the shadows.