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Why Michel Rolland Couldn't Say No
We first met Bill Harlan at breakfast at his Meadowood Resort Grill in 1991. Actually, we sort of met him a couple hours before breakfast. We were walking, and sometimes jogging, on the treadmill in the hotel workout room, trying to wish away the effects of last night's Cabernets. The guy next to us was feeling none of the same pain.
Trim, with neatly combed back salt and pepper hair, our neighbor wasn't running. He was galloping, his Nikes barely touched the rubber belt below. He had already worked up a healthy sweat when we stepped on, and seemed only to be picking up speed when we hopped off. Bill Harlan was about 50, quite a bit older than we were, but the guy who is rumored to have swum the English Channel a half dozen times while in his 20s, was still running like Secretariat.
Over bacon and eggs (Bill ate oatmeal), Harlan told us a story that spanned 10 years, beginning on the east-facing slopes of Vosne-Romanee, concluding with the purchase of what would become the most prized, terraced acreage in Napa Valley, set above Martha's Vineyard on the Oakville Grade. But as the serial entrepreneur was quick to add, great business stories come in two parts. The first was concept and that was almost complete. The second, equally important, was all about the people. That's when Bill Harlan told us that Bob Levy would be jumping ship at Merryvale so as to assume the winemaking helm at Harlan Estate, and that the most talked about enologist in the world, Michel Rolland, was hopping on board beside Levy.
Over the next 15 years, Rolland's reputation and winegrowing protocol would spread to almost every quadrant of the Cabernet-making globe. Michel's signature isn't hard to decipher. Just as they did up at Harlan, Rolland adopts a labor-intensive winegrowing protocol, one that calls for stressing vines so as to naturally trim back yields, nursing out small clean berries of perfect physiological maturity. Rolland's greatest efforts would be found at Harlan Estate, Bond, and his own Bon Pasteur in Pomerol. But as we'd learn a few years ago in Bordeaux, today, the world's most renown Flying Winemaker is funneling a large part of his still considerable energy to a few estates in Mendoza, none more astounding and dramatic than the 80-year-old tree-like vines of Casarena.
Casarena is on fire, one of Lujan de Cujo's hottest new estates, and those commercial flames have much to do with the Flying Winemaker's matchsticks. It wasn't like Rolland needed another client. But once Michel saw what we saw -- ancient 8-foot Cabernet vines set on rugged soils at 3600 feet, even the guy who can name his project -- and his price -- couldn't say no. Today, you'll find out why.
Just 200 cases each of these astounding Rolland signature 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec Reservas made it stateside. While the varieties clearly sing different purple fruit songs, the melody is much the same. Each wine is immensely concentrated (if you're looking for finesse at the expense of power, you've come to the wrong Mendoza address!), packed with purple fruit intensity, wildly opulent, yet still somehow reined-in, chewy and compact. As always with Rolland's wines, patience pays dividends, so take your time while drinking these. After a couple hours, the sneaky tannins peek out from all that black fruit silk, deftly bracketing all the plushness, freshening things up for Rolland's long haul.
Steve Tanzer managed to get his hands on a bottle of each, and raved about both, dropping matching 91-point reviews (read below).
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Tasting Notes
2009 Casarena Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Mendoza
"Good bright medium ruby. Blackberry, cassis, menthol and licorice lifted by violet on the nose. Sweet, suave and harmonious; less open and pliant than the reserve malbec but balanced to reward a couple years of patience. Finishes with serious ripe tannins and very good chocolatey persistence. A lot of wine for the price."
91 points -- Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar
2009 Casarena Malbec Reserva Mendoza
"Deep medium ruby. Blackberry, violet and coffee on the nose. Fat, rich, sweet and deep; more harmonious than the basic bottling of this wine but still carrying a full load of mocha and coconut oak. Very smooth wine with enough lift and energy to carry the finish. The tannins are nicely coated by fruit."
91 points -- Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar
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*Important Shipping Information
- Orders will begin shipping the week of May 21, 2012.
- You will be provided with the exact shipment date during checkout.
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