MAISON MARCHAND-TAWSE 2010 BOURGOGNE ROUGE
Pascal Marchand is a real character and a solid chap to boot. He’s half a woodsman, half an old sea dog – a true one indeed, as he was once, right after his teenage years, in the merchant navy. He is also undeniably a woodsman, since he comes from Quebec, a country of vast forests, but also because “bois”, the French for “wood”, is the name given to the vine branches pruned in winter – and Pascal is clearly a vine-caring man: he showed his love for Burgundy’s vines when he moved here, which was to be expected, considering his love for wine, which, for him, is the vine’s first and foremost offspring. How can a wine be good if the grapes used to make it are not? Certainly not by following sheer chemical methods. Wine must reflect the earth that has nourished the vine-stocks. Just like man, wine must not forget its roots!The 2010 Bourgogne is fantastic-- the nose leads with sweet cherry and tart pomegranate balanced with light spice and earth. The palate keeps with the same fruit flavors, a balanced chiaroscuro mouthful that, while definitely pretty, is surmounted by great acidity and bolstered with rich viscosity to make quite a complete, tasty Bourgogne.
