Winemaker Notes
This wine is all about harmony—a harmony of red berries, fragrant flowers, sweet and savor spices, and a wonderful concentration and nerve. The marriage of these essences culminates into a juicy, gamey and supple palate and an impressive, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Marchand Tawse Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru Clos des Ormes is by far and away the best wine I have ever experienced from this Burgundy appellation. TASTING NOTES: This wine is powerful, persistent, and pure. Its aromas and flavors of ripe red fruit and savory spices should pair it beautifully with a serving of lamb shoulder with ripe citrus, Romaine lettuce, and fennel. (Tasted: March 4, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
While Morey-St-Denis of Burgundy might not get the same attention as its neighbors, Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south, there is no reason why it shouldn’t. The same line of limestone runs from the Combe de Lavaux in Gevrey—all the way through Morey—ending in Chambolle.
There are four grand cru vineyards, moving southwards from the border with Gevrey-Chambertin: Clos de la Roche, Clos St-Denis, Clos des Lambrays, Clos de Tart and a small segment of Bonnes-Mares overlapping from Chambolle. Clos de la Roche is probably the finest vineyard, giving wines of true depth, body, and sturdiness for the long haul than most other vineyards.
Pinot Noir from Morey-St-Denis is known for its deep red cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. Aromas of spice, licorice and purple flowers are present in the wines’ youth, evolving to forest and game as the wine ages.