Malbec Has a Face!

Nelly Ward
45 minutes ago
4 min read

A tribute to Michel Rolland

To mark the World Malbec Day this year I do not want to write about the grape itself. And not even really about Argentina, although Argentina is inseparable from this story. Today, I want to write about the man whose face comes to my mind every time I think of Malbec at its most ambitious, most magnetic, and most alive:

Michel Rolland.

I still struggle to believe that I won’t be raising a glass with him at En Primeur next week.

I fell in love with Michel’s wines before I ever shook his hand, before the stories, before the laughter, before the privilege of watching him work. I simply tasted the wines and felt that there was something there that went beyond technique. There was generosity in them. Depth. Seduction. Confidence.

And I walked through parts of his world, visiting places that carried his spirit so strongly, and got to know his wife, Dany, and his teams in Argentina and Bordeaux, who always stood by his side.

Then, last year in Buenos Aires, I met him in person for the first time at the French Embassy, where he was being honoured for his extraordinary contribution to Argentine wine after 37 years in the country. He may have come from France, but part of his soul clearly belonged to Argentina too.

And then, almost unbelievably, within a week I found myself taking part in his private annual blending session at Mariflor.

That is one of those moments I will carry with me forever.

To see Michel Rolland in action was surreal. There were dozens of unfinished samples on the table, raw materials in motion, wines still searching for their final shape. And then there was Michel. Calm. Focused. Effortless. Within minutes, he could taste through the chaos and create a blend that suddenly felt alive in the glass. Complete. Harmonious. Almost inevitable. Watching him work was like watching instinct, memory, discipline and artistry become one. It was one of the greatest honours of my wine life.

That was when his genius stopped being an abstract reputation and became something real in front of my eyes.

Of course, the reputation was already enormous. Michel was the original “flying winemaker,” a man whose influence reached more than 150 estates in 14 countries, while the laboratory he built with Dany, Rolland & Associés, served more than 400 wine estates. He helped shape the modern wine world not only through his own projects, but through the standards of precision, ambition and blending that he brought to producers across the globe.

And yet, for me, his importance on Malbec Day is even more personal than his fame.

Michel’s relationship with Argentina began in 1988 in Cafayate, where he and Dany started consulting at Yacochuya. He saw something in Argentina that others had not yet fully understood. He saw the potential of the land, the light, the altitude, and above all the potential of Malbec. Over the years, that path led to projects such as Clos de los Siete, Mariflor and Val de Flores. His role in Argentina was not decorative. He helped shape the confidence of a country that would go on to make Malbec its signature to the world.

He spoke about Bordeaux with the sadness of someone watching a place he loved lose some of its identity, some of its force, some of its respect. Argentina became his second home. Another place to build, to dream, to create, to push boundaries, to believe. And last year he was working on a special blend that he was hoping to bring from Argentina to the UK.

Michel’s wines, and Michel’s style, did not please everyone. Great figures rarely do. Some found his wines too bold. Some too polished. Some saw repetition where others saw consistency. But whichever side of that debate one stands on, one thing is beyond dispute: Michel Rolland changed wine. He had an extraordinary ability to take fruit and bring out the very best in it, to shape power into harmony, to make wine feel generous and beautiful without losing intention. That is not formula. That is art.

And beyond the legend, beyond the scale, beyond the consultant with the global passport, there was also the man.

That is the Michel I want to celebrate today.

The Michel I met was kind. Warm. Funny. Generous. Curious. Full of life. He had the kind of presence that immediately made you feel both comfortable and inspired. There are people whose greatness creates distance. Michel was the opposite. His greatness made you want to come closer. In a very short time, he became someone very special to me: a friend, a mentor, an inspiration, and truly a role model.

That is who he was. He gave people belief. He gave people energy.

Yes, he was a genius. Yes, he was a pioneer. Yes, he built an extraordinary legacy in France, in Argentina, and far beyond. His own projects remained deeply rooted in family too, with Dany beside him and their daughters Stéphanie and Marie involved in the family business. But what I will carry from him most closely is not only what he achieved. It is how he lived.

And if the flood of photos shared from every corner of the wine world after his passing showed us anything, it is this: he smiled through life. In picture after picture, glass after glass, country after country, he looked like a man who truly loved life and knew how to enjoy it fully, with passion — in a real way. In a way that made others feel it too.

That is the biggest lesson I take from Michel Rolland.

Not only how to taste.

Not only how to blend.

Not only how to think bigger.

But how to live.

To enjoy life. Every moment of it. To love what you do. To do it with conviction. To stay true to your style. To enjoy true moments with the people around you.

So today, while the world celebrates Malbec, I raise my glass to the man whose face I will always see when I think of it.

Thank you, Michel.

Santé. Y Salud.

P.S. I know he's holding a Pinot Noir on the first picture :)

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