The Robert Moncuit Les Grands Blancs is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes gathered from select parcels in the family’s Le Mesnil-sur-Oger vineyards. Generally, it is composed of 80% of its base vintage, and 20% from the preceding vintage. Neutral oak and stainless steel are used in ageing, so as to limit any oak character. The result is a delightfully refreshing Champagne. It sings with minerality, and calls for celebration.
The Moncuit family have a generations-long history of making exquisitely expressive Grand Cru Champagne in the Côte des Blancs. They acquired their first vineyard in 1889. Almost 40 years later, the first grapes were ready and Robert Moncuit created his debut cuvée. Champagne Robert Moncuit was born.
Current grower and winemaker Pierre Amillet is a fourth generation Moncuitt, and is passionate about the Mesnil-sur-Oger terroir of his family’s vineyards. This is a truly hands-on operation. Grapes are manually harvested, each plot is pressed separately to best preserve the essence of terroir, and sustainable viticulture is embraced.
Moncuit's NV Brut Blanc de Blancs, from vineyards in Mesnil and Oger, is an absolutely delicious, open-knit wine that will drink well upon release. This is an especially soft style for a young Blanc de Blancs, but that just makes the wine more approachable and inviting. Attractive floral and chalky notes round things nicely.
90 points, Vinous, December 2017
"Formerly named 'Grand Cru Brut', this cuvee has undergone a magnificent transformation inside and out, and the 2014 base represents a stunning starting point stronger than I have ever seen for Pierre Amillet's range. He has masterfully captured an excellent expression of Le Mesnil, celebrating the deep fingerprint of the village in fine, frothing salt minerality and dynamic acidity. His mandate of ripeness is exemplified in beautiful fruit character of pear and apple, tensioned with bright, pure lemon and grapefruit. Barrel fermentation builds texture without disrupting the purity and precision of Les Mesnil, making for a finish of impressive line and length."
94 points, The Champagne Guide 2020-2021
Located 150 km east of Paris, Champagne is the French wine region renowned for producing the finest, most rich and complex sparkling wines in the world. The elegance, longevity and racy acidity of these wines are attributed to the influence of the chalky soils of the region and the cool, marginal continental climate. The region spans an area of 35,000 ha and has 4 main growing areas, each favouring one of the three noble Champagne varieties; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Champagne has a vineyard quality hierarchy based on the soils, aspect and overall quality of the grapes. Like Burgundy, these quality designations are allocated to the vineyards of the village. Of the 319 villages of Champagne, 17 have Grand Cru status and 44 villages are designated Premier Cru. All Champagne is produced by Traditional Method. The vast majority of Champagne is a blend of the three varieties and may also be a blend of several vintages producing the popular Non Vintage (NV) house styles. Top quality blends from exceptional years are sold as Vintage (Millésime) Champagne.
