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letuffeau.com
(Link)
Andre Robert
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
“After a long absence one of our favourite Recoltant Manipulant producers, Andre Robert, is back in the shop. The ‘Les Jardins du Mesnil’ stopped us in our tracks last year and we probably drank more than we sold …”
— David
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“I remember tasting the Champagnes from Andre Robert, with their fast-talking importer, for the first time. The bottle was opened just for me and before the glass was poured I remember internally opining:
oh god, not another grower Champagne!
I was expecting, after years of being burnt by hyped-bottles: a weedy and thin wine with pokey acidity, or perhaps something strange and potentially mousey with murky barrel notes and unfortunately lingering less-than-pleasant characters.
Mercifully, Andre Robert was not the above!
The wines are incisive and fresh with bracing power and, importantly, laden with fruit. Indeed it is this fruit, rather than lees/yeast influences, that really left an impression on me.
It is such a delight, amid the myriad of big houses and their ‘styles’, and grower/Recoltant Manipulant producers popping up like weeds, to find a Champagne that is so redolent of expert vineyard work and fine fruit. Far too often the fruit, both off the vine and as a characteristic of the finished wine, is treated as something secondary. This is not the case with Andre Robert.
I hope my notes communicate my enthusiasm for these wines. They are more than aperitifs, they are vinous food wines with great sapidity. I smugly look forward to tonight’s dinner at Ling Nan, which I know too many of you are missing, where I may enjoy these wines fine Cantonese fare. A pairing that feels all too apt to me.
This wines are, in short, utterly delicious.”
— David
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Vallee de la Marne
I
Andre Robert NV Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs ‘Les Vignes de Montigny’
(Shelf Price: $159.00)
Offer: $135.00 (15%-off)
50% Pinot Noir (young vines) and 50% Pinot Meunier (V.V.)
“Marked as a Blanc de Noir by the barest bronzen hint, the non vintage ‘Les Vignes de Montigny’ bursts from the glass with nuances of cherry, grilled peach, frangipane, and soft red florals. There is such brightness and vivacity here that one nearly concentrates on the aforementioned only, almost neglecting the complexifying notes of bay, red currant jelly, and cured meat. The palate is fulsome, with incisive acid presence and good phenolic with fine linearity of style before ‘smoothing out’ and finishing floral. Mirabelle and damson hints, tart red cherry and strawberry whites, and some crumbled biscuit up front then on the long, fragrant finish: red flowers, rose oil, pear, and macerated strawberry. Excellent aperitif, finished moreish and slightly salty. Lipsmacking - fine!”
— David
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“The NV Champagne Les Vignes de Montigny takes this cuvee to the next level. On opening, it has the freshness of perfectly ripe bunches off the vine, with notes of black cherry, violets, dewy earth, and some blue fruit shining through. The palate is medium to full-bodied and has a chiselled core of concentration, refined mousse, and a long, floral finish. I love the transparent nature of this wine, and it has the structure and bones to gain complexity and improve with another few years.”
94pts — Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Order here
(Link)
Cote de Blancs
II
Andre Robert NV Champagne Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs ‘Les Horizons’
(Shelf Price: $185.00)
Offer: $159.00 (15%-off)
100% Chardonnay
26% Etrechy 1er Cru, 8% Cuis 1er Cru, 26% Lisse en Champagne
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40% (all solera aged) from Vertus 1er Cr and Les Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru
“Arrestingly savoury, Andre Robert’s non vintage ‘Les Horizons’ possesses a nose of ripe yellow orchard fruit entwined with fresh marjoram and mandarin, dried bay, and preserved lemon; of all which is wrapped in hints of cultured better, fresh hazelnut, and chalk. Touches of chiffon cake and fragrant wood oils lend complexity. The palate is silken and precise yet never lacks for power. There is a similarity in shape possessed by all these wines that presents in an incisive opening followed by a long, lifted close. Here we find tarragon and marjoram notes leading toasted fennel seed, lemon curd, pear oil, and frangipane. The lilting finish possesses repeating fennel and pear notes. Very elegant, more in the way of complex and layered than powerful. Fine qualitatively and ‘Fine’ as a rating of quality.”
— David
&
“The NV Champagne Blanc de Blancs Les Horizons Extra Brut is a blend of Grand Cru and Premier Cru fruit. It has a soft floral tone, with notes of hay and savoury herbs, and a long finish. The palate is juicy with ripe fruit, has pure clarity, and is really tasty. I love this one as well.”
92pts — Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Order here
(Link)
III
Andre Robert NV Champagne Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs ‘Les Jardins du Mesnil’
(Shelf Price: $239.00)
Offer: $199.00 (15%-off)
100% Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
60% 2018 vintage from Lieux-dits ‘Les Musettes’ and ‘Les Hauts d’Aillerand’
40% reserve wine from the 2018 vintage
“A wine of intense minerality, the ‘Les Jardins du Mesnil’ from Andre Robert is very expressive of its terroir with fine boned, mineral-led (that chalk!) aromas of crushed citrus leaf, barely ripe peach, Meyer lemon oil, and chiffon all unwinding in the glass to the attentive beholder. Aeration seemingly induces the wine to revert to a more base mineral state before revealing herbal nuances and lifted citron fragrances. The palate is very silken with a surge of minerality in the middle 1/3. The finish: long and lifted. Cushioning more mineral and chalky elements, sweet orchard fruit abounds alongside hazelnut frangipane, tangerine, and delicate hay and saline nuances. It is difficult to think too hard about this lovely wine. Very fine and, perhaps more importantly, utterly delicious.”
— David
Order here
(Link)
IV
Rose - Assemblage
Andre Robert NV Champagne Extra Brut Rose ‘Roses de Vignes’
(Shelf Price: $255.00)
Offer: $215.00 (15%-off)
50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Meunier, 15% Pinot Noir
Rose Component: 10% Coteaux Champenois (still wine) aged for 36m
“As pale in tint as many Blanc de Noirs, the latest disgorgement of ‘Rose de Vignes’ is redolent of petrichor and cut mint, much more intense and knotty on the nose than the other wines from the stable. Cherry blossom and mandarin elements underscore a delicate aromatic profile of white cherry, sea spray, crushed chalk, bresaola, and balsam nuances. The palate is ripely fruited, dense, and layered; the finish here feels more vinous, and les floral, than the other wines but possessing greater power. Eton Mess abounds on the palate, alongside scratched orange citrus, cherries, and chalk. The close is very fresh and slightly marine. I imagine this pairing well with Yum Cha, especially Siu Mai dumplings. Fine!”
— David
Order here
(Link)
…
Please join us for a drink soon. Reservations preferred.
Bookings and after-6.00pm access: (03) 9419 3867
Tue. 11.00 am–6.00 pm
Wed.–Sat. 11.00 am–11.00 pm
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If you would like any of the above, would like to come by for a private appointment, or just have some questions — please let us know.