Roberson ditches big name Champagnes

Independent wine merchant Roberson has culled all of the big name Champagnes from its website in order to focus solely on grower Champagnes.

Frederic Savart of Champagne Savart

“Our role is to hunt out exciting new wines for customers that are not widely available elsewhere, yet our Champagne range never really fit with this. With Champagne people tend to expect the big names”, said Roberson’s business development director Adam Green.

“When we reviewed our range recently we realised that this was one area where we could really improve the application of this mentality, hence the decision to switch Grand Marques for grower Champagnes.” He added.

Roberson is keen to work with smaller producers in Champagne that grow their own grapes and producer terroir-driven sparklers in small quantities.

“We don’t sell big brands as we prefer to root out wines made in smaller quantities with great stories behind them. Champagne has always been treated differently, with the big brands retaining an element of prestige that smaller growers find it difficult to compete with,” said Roberson’s marketing manager Lisa McCaghy.

“We felt that selling these brands is at odds with the rest of our wine list, so have decided to only sell grower Champagnes from the real stars of the region,” she added.

Among the grower Champagnes Roberson lists are Jacques Selosse, Larmandier Bernier, Champagne Savart, Egly-Ouriet and Vouette et Sorbée.