Domaine Tawse

The history of this domaine is an interesting one and much of it is recent. In 1985 Canadian Pascal Marchand became winemaker at Domaine Comte Armand at just 22 years of age, with a strong desire to farm organically and, if possible, biodynamically. He left in 1999 to join the Boisset group where he stayed until 2005 during which time he helped convert the majority of the group’s vineyards around the world to biodynamics.

He then left to pursue other négociant opportunities until he joined up with fellow Canadian Moray Tawse in 2011. From under the noses of more famous figures they contrived to snap up the 4 hectares of Domaine Maume, who had some great vineyards mainly in Gevrey-Chambertin.

Alongside these domaine wines Pascal continued to evolve his négociant business under the label of Marchand Tawse, as opposed to the Domaine Tawse name he was using for the domaine vineyards. Talented Englishman, Mark Fincham, was signed up to make the wines and is clearly something of a humble genius as the wines he has been making are stunning.

Mark’s input and the move to a biodynamic approach have taken a few vintages to truly make a significant difference, but over the last three or four the progression has really started to become obvious and critics and collectors alike are starting to sit up and take note. We are lucky enough to have an allocation of mainly domaine wines, although due to the joys of French paperwork they will be labelled Marchand Tawse rather than Domaine Tawse in 2022, as was the case in 2021.

 In terms of vinification Mark is not averse to the use of whole bunches, but is not dogmatic about it, varying their use significantly depending upon the individual cuvée. He has a lot of very old vines to play with which probably encourages him to use whole bunches where possible.