About V59

In 1997 Roy Cloud was asked by the Michel-Schlumberger winery to become its buyer for the California winery’s new import line. He accepted, despite the fact that, astonishingly, his French was worthless at the time. But his brother spoke well, and so clandestinely he came along on the early travels. They tromped across France and farmers opened their doors to them and a deep, abiding appreciation was gained for the pride the better among these vignerons took in their work.

Previously, Roy had been a manager at MacArthur Beverages in Washington, DC, where he worked side by side with Pierre Rovani and had become well acquainted with such importers as Danny Haas, Robert Kacher, Eric Solomon, and Terry Theise. Before he came to know these esteemed gentlemen, he was living in New York, earning a MA in writing at the New York University. Before that, he was a carpenter in California. Once upon a time, he caught salmon in Alaska. He grew up a punk kid in Pittsburgh.

The Michel-Schlumberger banner introduced such brands in the U.S. as Merlin-Cherrier from Sancerre, Marc Tempé from Alsace, Joseph Voillot from Volnay, as well as Saint Cosme and Montirius from the southern Rhone Valley. In early 2003, Roy purchased the assets of the Michel-Schlumberger import company and formed Vintage ’59. The name changed (to that of his birth year, a great vintage in France), but the heart and soul of the company remained focused on artisan domaines that made cutting-edge, regional wines-classic vins des terroirs.

Roy continues to write the back label texts. He still looks for wines with delicious depth of fruit, length, and finesse; he doesn’t much care for obtrusive oak, over-extraction, or excessive alcohol. And he doesn’t work with fatheads, regardless of how good their wine may be.

"Importer on the Rise" by Michael Franz, WineReviewOnLine.com (February 20, 2007)