Marchand-Tawse Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2021
Rare Grand Cru from Marchand-Tawse - only a few bottles available. Spicy and dark berry fruit, earthy and floral at the same time. Firm but fine tannin spine with great balance through to a classy and pretty finish.
Maison Marchand-Tawse
The story of the Maison Marchand-Tawse in Burgundy begins with the extraordinary story of Pascal Marchand, the French Canadian boy wonder, who in 1985 at 22 years old, took the reins of the Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard.He became an overnight sensation, and in the process pretty much defined modern Burgundy.
We first crossed paths when I was putting together the original wine list for our hotel-barge Le Papillon back in 1989. But before we talked wine, we talked boats. Iron ore freighters to be precise. We had both worked a few years as Merchant Seamen on the Great Lakes, Pascal on the Canadian side, and me down at the other end. After the usual macho stories I could see the guy really likes boats. So I invited him for a canal cruise on the Burgundy Canal that afternoon, and we have been friends ever since.
In the following years, Pascal took the Clos des Epeneaux from relative obscurity to international prominence by winging it, really. He became part of the inner sanctum of a new generation of Burgundy producers who took wine production back into the vines. They shared ideas, were willing to experiment, became keen observers of Nature. Without good grapes there is no good wine. But good grapes come from healthy vineyards. So many of them turned to organic production. Pascal first and foremost.
But the Clos des Epeneaux is tiny. And for a young, talented and ambitious winemaker, 15 years there was enough. He needed a new challenge. And he found one! We did not see him again until 2006!
Pascal was approached by Jean-Charles Boisset, scion of the family who control the third largest French wine group, who wanted to create a domain that would be the showcase for the family’s other businesses. So with the 1999 vintage, the Domaine de la Vougeraie was launched, giving Pascal management of over 90 acres of Burgundy vineyards, from simple regional appellations through to Grand Crus. It was the largest single domain creation in Burgundy since the end of the second World War. And it soon became a reference for modern Burgundy production. Pascal took the entire domain into organic farming, and with a biodynamic approach. It was revolutionary.
During the seven years he was there, Pascal also participated in the development of several other projects in the Boisset group outside of Burgundy and abroad. At the same time, he was working as consultant for wineries around the world, and so became one of the best know ‘flying winemakers’.
Those days are over. The Marchand-Tawse bio of Pascal says that ‘a strong need for emancipation’ was the reason he left the Boisset group in 2006. In that year he took on the management of the Domaine Jean Fery and made the first steps toward creating his own micro-negociant house.
The collaboration of Pascal with another French Canadian, Moray Tawse of the Tawse Winery in Niagara, one of Canada’s most recognized wineries, gave birth to the new Maison Marchand-Tawse in 2011.
There are several highly thought of modern negociant houses that have emerged in this last generation. Some have outside funding; some are insiders and have connections. Marchand-Tawse is a bit of both. But it’s the inside connections that impress us most. Have a look at the list of wines they produce now and tell me this guy is not well respected by his peers!

Appellations
White
- Saint Romain
- Meursault
- Meursault Blagny 1er Cru
- Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
- Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Red
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Gevrey-Chambertin ‘Roncieves’
- Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru ‘Les Cazetiers’
- Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru ‘Fontenys’
- Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru ‘Combe aux Moines’
- Nuits St Georges
- Nuits St Georges 1er Cru ‘Pruliers’
- Nuits St Georges 1er Cru ‘Damodes’
- Nuits St Georges 1er Cru ‘Vaugrains’
- Morey St Denis ‘Rue de Vergy’
- Morey St Denis 1er Cru ‘Faconnieres’
- Morey St Denis 1er Cru ‘Clos des Ormes’
- Vosne-Romanee
- Vosne Romanee 1er Cru ‘Les Suchots’
- Pommard 1er Cru ‘Epenots’
- Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru ‘Clos St Jean’
- Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Mazy-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Latricieres-Chambertin Grand Cru
- Chambertin-Clos de Beze
- Clos St Denis Grand Cru
- Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
- Musigny Grand Cru
- Corton Grand Cru
- Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
- Echezeaux Grand Cru
BURGUNDY 2021 VINTAGE
Nothing abides. Just as we Burgundy purists begrudgingly acknowledged the vitality and variety of the three previous hot-weather vintages, along came 2021, classic Burgundy with its frost, damp and low yields.
Way back when, in pre-climate-change conditions, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay would struggle, year after year, to come to maturity in what was this, the northernmost spot in Europe where grapes could ripen enough to make still wine. That struggle was, in fact, the very definition of viticulture in Burgundy (chaptalization notwithstanding).
But then weather patterns started to change, not drastically, but gradually: milder winters and earlier springs; hotter summers and earlier autumns. By the time we got to 2018, then 2019 and then 2020, those mild winters were breeding grounds for mildew, the early springs were prone to killer frosts, those hot summers forced ripeness onto reticent grapes varieties, and early autumns left little time to the winemaker to sort it all out.
If this all sounds like an accident waiting to happen, hang on to your hat; it’s all perspective.
2018 was wet, wet, wet through winter and up to mid-April. Then an explosive bud-burst sent the winemakers scurrying to control the vegetation. But then it got hot, hot, south-of-Spain hot, and mildew never stood a chance. Early harvest, no health issues. Big crop. Great vintage.
2019 was wet through the winter. Early bud burst, then frost took part of the crop. A warm set up flowering, but cold weather set in, taking another part of the crop. Then it got hot and very dry. Well-tend vines and, especially, old vines did well because there was last winter’s water in the water table, and good vines can go deep for water. Hot, healthy harvest. Great really ripe vintage.
2020 was precocious. Mild wet winter. Bud burst in mid-April. From that point on, there is not much to report weatherwise. It was hot and dry from June through to the end. Harvest started in August. Indeed, there was more stress on the winemakers than there was on the vines. When to pick? Overall, great vintage both white and red.
See a pattern?
And 2021…well in 2021 things returned to ‘normal’ (if such a thing is possible in Burgundy!) First came devastating frosts in the early part of April, which were followed by a cool May, leading to a damp summer with the ever-present threat of hail.
Chardonnay was more affected than Pinot Noir in that the red grapes come into leaf later. What all this means for the Burgundy harvest is that it will be a story of low yields (miniscule in places) and a late harvest.
When the older winemakers talk about what to expect this year, words such as ‘historic’ are used and comparisons are drawn with the harvest of 1970.
Some say we could be down 30% on 2020s already low yields. But it isn’t all bad news. Winemakers are nothing if not hardy, and their optimism cannot be shaken that easily. Fewer grapes on the vine means that those which have survived should have an intensity of flavor which sets them apart and may mark this harvest out as extraordinary. There may be other upsides, too: because the harvest is later, the grapes have had more ‘hang time’ which could mean good phenolic maturity.
CLOS DE LA ROCHE
GRANDS CRUS OF MOREY SAINT DENIS
Area in production* :
1 hectare (ha) = 2,4 acres
CLOS SAINT-DENIS : 6,07 ha
CLOS DE LA ROCHE : 16,84 ha
CLOS DES LAMBRAYS : 8,22 ha
CLOS DE TART : 7,31 ha
Diversity is to be expected as each Grand Cru has its own personality.
Generally ruby red, sometimes a bit darker. Veiled in strawberry and violet, the Clos de Tart offers both robustness and charm. Quite tannic when young, it softens with age while gaining in complexity. The Clos des Lambrays is a true aristocrat, fully rounded in youth and with added depth and gravity as the years go by. The Clos Saint-Denis impresses by its finely-tuned nuances – it’s been called the Mozart of the Côte de Nuits. The Clos de la Roche is firmer, deeper and more serious, closely akin to Chambertin. Aromas of humus and truffle are often precursors to notes of small red or black fruits. A small part of the Bonnes-Mares appellation lies in this commune, but the greater part is in Chambolle-Musigny.
Of all the villages of the Côte de Nuits, Morey-Saint-Denis is one of the most fruitful in terms of the number of its Grands Crus. The Clos de Tart, which remains a solely-held entity, was founded by the Cistercians of Tart in 1141. Since that date, it has been owned by only three families. The Clos Saint-Denis came on the scene in the 11th century, thanks to the fortress of Vergy. The Clos de la Roche and Clos des Lambrays are both semi-monopoles and both have long histories which have involved some adjustment of boundaries between Climats.
Facing east or slightly south of east at around 250 meters above sea-level, these Climats may be seen as a southerly extension of the Grands Crus of Gevrey- Chambertin. First comes the Clos de la Roche, then Clos Saint-Denis followed by Clos des Lambrays, and finally Clos de Tart leading to Bonnes-Mares.
Limestone dominates in the Clos de la Roche where the soil is barely 30 cm deep with few pebbles but with large boulders which give the Climat its name. In the Clos de Tart, scree-derived soils 40-120 cm thick cover the underlying limestone. The Upper part of the Clos des Lambrays is marly with clay limestone soil further down. The Clos Saint-Denis at the foot of the slope has pebble-free brown limestone soils which contain phosphorus (like Chambertin) and clay (like Musigny).
Grand Cru Climats
• Clos de la Roche
• Les Chabiots
• Les Fremières
• Les Froichots
• Les Genavrières
• Les Mochamps
• Monts Luisants
SHIPPING INCLUDED(on case quantities, Continental USA).
burgundywine.com Agnes Paquet
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