2010 Marchand-Tawse Echezeaux

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.

Echezeaux is a 93-acre Grand Cru vineyard on the southern edge of the Cote de Nuits. It up the slope from Clos de Vougeot and Grands Echezeaux and is one of the largest grand crus in Burgundy. The vineyard varies in elevation from 250 to 300 meters, and the terroir includes significant clay as well as thin, rocky soil. The largest proprietors are Domaine de la Romanee Conti, with 11.68 acres; Mongeard-Mugneret with 6.25 acres, and Emmanuel-Rouget, with 3.58 acres. Echezeaux produces red wine.

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.