2013 Marchand-Tawse Charmes-Chambertin

Marchand-Tawse is a micro-negociant founded in 2011 by a pair of Canadians with long-time ties to Burgundy and fine winemaking. Quebec native Pascal Marchand moved to Burgundy in 1983 to make wine for estates including Comte Armand’s Clos des Epeneaux and Domaine de la Vougeraie. Fellow Canadian Moray Tawse is a banker and financier who founded a winery in Niagara before also going into business with Pascal Marchand in Burgundy. Together they have acquired village, premier cru and grand cru parcels, and in 2012 purchased the famous Gevrey-Chambertin estate Domaine Maume. The estate makes 8,000 to 10,000 cases a year.

Charmes-Chambertin is a 78-acre Grand Cru vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin that traditionally includes the acreage of nearby Mazoyeres-Chambertin. For nearly 200 years the growers of Mazoyeres have been legally allowed to sell their wines under the more famous name of Charmes-Chambertin, and virtually all of them do. Charmes-Chambertin is the largest of the Gevrey-Chambertin Grand Crus, and it generally has an excellent reputation. The slope of the vineyard is gentle and the surface soil poor. But producers including Joseph Roty, Christian Serafin, Domaine Dujac, Faiveley and Joseph Drouhin are acclaimed for their Charmes Chambertin. Principal landholders are Camus, with 14.75 acres; Perrot-Minot, 4 acres; and Armand Rousseau, 3.5 acres.

This red wine is relatively light and can pair with a wide variety of foods. The grape prefers cooler climates and the wine is most often associated with Burgundy, Champagne and the U.S. west coast. Regional differences make it nearly as fickle as it is flexible.