“A spectacular confirmation of the winemaking philosophy of Michel Rolland.” – Robert Parker

Seeing this right? Michel Rolland made POMEROL under $40?! Did your pulse quicken a bit? If so, I’d check out first and then come back for the story…

With a trio of great reviews - and a price sitting in the basement of Pomerol (the land of Petrus!), this delivers an easy value proposition. It shows off “an up-front, delicious, already impossible to resist style” and we agree - it’s simply TOO easy to drink!

Not only did Michel Rolland make it, but his grandparents founded Le Bon Pasteur in the 1920s. You read that right, the man The New York Times dubbed “the world’s most famous wine consultant” has owned only a few properties in his illustrious career. Of course, he put many others on the map - L’Evangile, Ausone or Pavie in Bordeaux and Dalla Valle, Bryant Family or Harlan Estate in Napa to name a few. A comprehensive list of his current clients can be found here on Wikipedia.

Wine Spectator sums it up: Consulting enologist Michel Rolland makes some of the world’s best red wines. and cites the rest of his story: “Born in 1947, Rolland was destined to be a winemaker. It was a great year for many wines in Bordeaux, and his father, Serge, was already carrying on the family tradition of running their Pomerol estate, Le Bon Pasteur (in English, the good shepherd.) Rolland helped around the estate as a boy and soon became interested in wine. Rolland’s rise as a wine guru began in the early 1980s. He began consulting at a number of neighboring properties in Pomerol as well as at his father’s Le Bon Pasteur… His omnipresence in the world of fine wine is impressive, to say the least.”

And it’s here too, in our glasses, without a doubt. A massive dose of cherries red and black are intertwined with sweet spices and striking minerality, while it’s the mouthfeel that catches you unprepared. It’s got that signature Michel Rolland plushness without being too much, instantly setting itself apart from a sea of Bordeaux that lacks that luxurious depth. The long and complex finish echoes that sentiment, along with more exotic nuances such as orange chutney, and plum sauce, making this the ideal accompaniment to numerous fragrant cuisines.

A truly exceptional vintage also helped, in 2020 as pointed out by Antonio Galloni of Vinous “picking favorites is next to impossible in a vintage that yielded many memorable wines… Le Bon Pasteur is one of the most improved wines in Pomerol, as recent years show less of the pushed approach to extraction than was once the norm.”

Agreed, Antonio, making you proud today… while supplies last.

93 Points – James Suckling

“Pretty nose of lavender, plums, vanilla, praline and chai. Tight and linear with fine tannins that run the length of the wine. It’s full-bodied with firm, creamy and plush tannins. Ripe fruit in the center palate that’s nicely mixed with the wood. Rounded and decadent. Delicious already, but better from 2025.”

92 Points – Decanter

“Cool blue fruits, supple, juicy, (thanks to high acidity) though dense for sure; really very tannic, but a lovely, fleshy plushness and cool minty touch meaning you don’t get the heat or heaviness, and this still has depth. It’s dark and brooding no doubt, fruit is black and heady, everything is quite intense, concentrated, driving and persistent, but it’s refined at the same time. Sleek, in keeping with the vintage, clearly a certain style with a defined and controlled core, this is coiled, sleeping. Clove, toast, liquorice and lots of wood; clearly the signature and style on show. Drink 2025-2040.”

91+ Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“The 2020 L’Etoile de Bon Pasteur offers a similar style to the Grand Vin, an up-front, delicious, already impossible to resist style as well as plenty of red and black fruits, some chocolate, tobacco leafy, and iron nuances, and enough tannins to allow it to evolve for at least 7-8 years. It’s a heck of second wine with real character. Drink 2023-2031.”