Calling Michel Rolland

I am drinking a strategic wine. Designed by a highly-paid world famous consultant, made in Bordeaux. And it's not a Chateau. Domaine Courteillac (this one's a 2007).

How is it? Great nose, medium tannins, a bit dense and thick, licorice, top of palate is a winner, then it thins, sours a bit, and disappears. It's--what's the word?--Bordeaux-y. Almost like there's a recipe. And therein lies the problem. It's too good, too much what customers seem to want in a budget Bordeaux. It's Wynton, but some of us want Miles. It's not a bad wine, but it's not a good wine.

Michel Rolland's client list is long and varied. From big buys in Bordeaux (Angélus, Ausone and Pape Clément), to Lapostolle in Chile, from Mondavi to Malbec to lesser-known wineriess like the Courteillac I'm drinking, to Staglin and Harlan, in Napa.

Of course Asimov has sized him up:
Asimov: We spoke about the rising level of alcohol in wines and the trend toward allowing grapes to ripen longer before they are harvested. The resulting wines are bigger and more opulent, with sweeter fruit, softer tannins and an absence of herbal flavors that were once commonplace in cabernet sauvignon-based wines. I mention Clos du Val and Corison, two Napa Valley producers whose wines adhere to a less upfront, more austere style, and Mr. Rolland is strikingly dismissive
Rolland: Wine is a business. They want to make wine to sell wine.