Emile Leroy, a winegrower in Ecueil (near Reims), began selling his wines with his friend Gustave Saroul. Somewhat avant-garde in terms of marketing, this friend sold Emile's wines in the Marseille area. An emblem of a lion rolling a globe under its paw was designed for the label. In their memory, we relaunched this design in December 2008.
Early 20th century
Marguerite and Henri
Henri
and his wife Marguerite Dussaut built the current property in Les Mesneux,
Marguerite's native village. Every day, Henri went by bicycle to work on the
vines in Ecueil, 6 km away, braving all weathers, with his tools in his basket.
Our old champagne label
The cathedral seen from Les Mesneux
The
origin of the cathedral on our wire cage caps dates back almost fifty years.
Our
grandmother Marguerite Leroy drew the view of Reims Cathedral that she saw when
she was working in the vineyard. In homage to her, we put this image on the cap
(plaque de muselet) much to the delight of collectors (known in French
as placomusophiles).
Philippe took over from Henri with his wife Marguerite Bertin, and by combining their names, the Leroy-Bertin brand was born. During the war, Philippe was taken prisoner, and Marguerite had to abandon the estate to take refuge with her sister and son Maurice. Philippe returned four years later and, with his wife, repaired the damage caused by the war and got the estate back on its feet.
Philippe, Maurice and Marguerite
Harvest in 1965
Maurice
took over from Philippe with his wife Marie Thérèse Bertin. They worked
together to consolidate and develop the Leroy-Bertin brand. Champagne was
booming. Maurice enlarged the estate, planting vines on land from his
grandfather Henri. Marie Thérèse modernized the marketing of the champagne.
Catherine and Christophe, brother and sister, took over and created the company EARL Leroy-Bertin. Christophe manages the vineyard; Catherine runs the office and receives visitors. Our champagne house continues to evolve, maintaining Champagne’s traditions and a family-style operation.
Catherine and Christophe
The whole family
The
Maison continues to evolve, maintaining Champagne’s traditions and a
family-style operation.