I had been joking about this for a while: Why isn’t Michel Roland making a wine here in Washington? He can just hop on a plan after leaving Staglin! Well, he has been here and has consulted on a Washington wine! The Long Shadows project is behind this and it’s going to be about a $50 bottle.

If you have seen Mondovino, Michel Rolland is portrayed as the villain of true wine. But just taste a 2000 Fontenil or a 2002 Staglin; these are awesome wines with a sense of place. Rolland is not homogenizing wines to his and/or Parker’s style. The Fontenil is definitely a right-bank Bordeaux and the Staglin is a plush Napa Cab, without question.