Chateau Rollat Winery

I came for the “Edouard de Rollat.” Sometime ago, I read a review by noted Seattle Times wine columnist Paul Gregutt (October 17, 2007) in which he used the word “polished” to describe this Bordeaux blend; obviously relishing the wine, he noted that it was a vin de garde — a French term for wines that you can cellar for many years. Palate curiosity got the better of me and I decided to discover this wine for myself at the Chateau Rollat (pronounced ROLL-ah) tasting room in downtown Walla Walla.

Now, dear reader, it is not often that I splurge for a wine priced in the mid-$60s but maybe it was the intense fruitiness of the wine or the lasting finish that made me spring for a bottle of “Edouard de Rollat.” Perhaps it was the friendliness of the pouring staff that encouraged my spendthriftiness as they wove a rich story about owner Bowin Lindgren and his great-grandfather Edouard.

If I could go back in time to early-1900s New York City, I would make a beeline for Café Martin, on 27th Street, and meet sommelier/wine steward Edouard Rollat in the flesh. Standing at more than 6 feet tall and sporting a neatly cropped mustache, the recent emigrant from France was an imposing figure of a man. It must have been disheartening to him when an amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibited the manufacture and sale of wine during the 1920s. But he made the most of the dry spell and continued to teach and write about wine, and eventually the “Great Experiment” was repealed. Imagine the pride Rollat would have felt to learn that his great-grandson Bowin Lindgren would produce a highly acclaimed wine named after him.

There’s another important character whom I heard about that day in the tasting room: one Christian LeSommer. Realizing he would need a consulting winemaker, Bowin succeeded in convincing Christian to come to Walla Walla and lend his winemaking expertise to create some great wines. Christian’s résumé includes fulfilling the duties of general manager and wine master at Bordeaux’s famed Chateau Latour. He is now the consulting manager for Domaines Barons de Rothschild’s winemaking properties in such far-flung places as Italy, Argentina, and Chile. But Walla Walla, Washington? Clearly, Bowin is a great salesman, and I suspect he gets that from his great-grandfather Edouard. It’s in his blood.