Got to taste a 2002 Staglin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. WOW! I was blown away by the power of this wine, and the bold, Bordeaux-style aromas and flavors. Like a first-growth on steroids. This is definitely a show-off wine, but it delivers the goods. Right after that we tasted a 2002 Insignia, which is a much more understated, elegant wine…but also incredible. (If I had chose the order to taste these, the Insignia should have come first. But when you are tasting Staglin and Insignia for free, it seems ludicrous to complain.)

So this is the second Michele Rolland wine I have had (2000 Fontenil being the other). Both were fantastic and completely different, so I don’t buy into the Mondovino argument that he is homogenizing/Parkerizing wines the world over.