Robert Bertrand

The house of André Robert is not in Fossoy in the Marne Valley, as older descriptions say. It sits in the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. The address is 15, rue de l'Orme. It is an independent family estate, and its wines are among the finest blanc de blancs of Le Mesnil.

Five generations in Le Mesnil

Henri Robert (1881 to 1948) began growing vines after the First World War. In the 1930s he founded the first growers' cooperative, so that presses and vinification could be shared. His son André bought the present house, with its 19th-century chalk cellars, in 1960. In 1962 he sold the first bottles under his own name. In 1981 Bertrand Robert took over the estate, and his wife Colette joined him in 1990. In 2013 their daughter Claire came into the business. Since 2018 the estate has been run by Claire Robert and her husband Jean-Baptiste Denizart.

Vineyards, grape varieties and ageing

The roughly 14 hectares lie mostly in Grand Cru and Premier Cru sites. There are 65 separate parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Vertus, Cuis and Étréchy, about 85 per cent of them Grand Cru or Premier Cru. The house grape is Chardonnay. Pinot Noir and Meunier grow in the Marne Valley, along with a few parcels on the tuffeau soils of the Coteaux Vitryats. So Pinot Meunier does not define the house, as the old text suggested.

“His son André bought the present house, with its 19th-century chalk cellars, in 1960.

The estate holds the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) certification. Vinification is traditional, mostly in small 228-litre barrels averaging about twelve years old. Bottling is late, in July, so that the wines spend at least eight months on the lees.

The cuvées

• Les Jardins du Mesnil: This cuvée shows the terroir of Le Mesnil as a whole, with plain, mid-slope and hilltop. It is made as an extra brut and as a brut nature.
• Terre du Mesnil: It comes from a single vintage. The wine is aged for four to seven years in 228-litre barrels.
• Collection d'Auteur and Rosé de Vignes: further cuvées in the house's range.

Visiting and tasting

Tastings at the estate are possible. According to the independent growers' association, the house is open daily, and on Saturdays by appointment. It is closed in August, and English is spoken. Booking on +33 3 26 57 59 41 is advisable.