Our
family has lived in Valvignères for more than four centuries.
The marriage certificate of our ancestors,
Claude LANDRAU and Marguerite DESSERRES, dated January
15, 1575, states they were both natives of Valvignères.
The
humble business of the LANDRAU family was passed
on from generation to generation. The name changed because of
specific marriages: September 16, 1798, Claude TOURNAYRE
married Mélanie LANDRAU. Over one hundred years later,
Félix ROBERT married Marthe TOURNAYRE
on November 28, 1925.
Our
grandparents Marthe and Félix ROBERT had seven children.
Of the seven, it was Alphonse who, in 1965, took over the family
property. Alphonse’s brothers and sisters gave him their
portions of the land. Alphonse’s youngest sister, Marguerite,
married to Albert PRADAL, is the mother of
Sébastien.
Alphonse
and Françoise ROBERT married on April 14, 1967.
Alphonse used to bring his grapes to the “Cave cooperative”
in the village, which he helped create in 1952. In 1982, he
withdrew from the cooperative in order to found his own estate
- "Mas d'Intras".
Our three families live in the hamlet that is named Intras.
It means "Southern Entrance" to the "Vallis Vinaria"
- the area called "Valley of the Vines" (the origin
of the name of Valvignères).
Alphonse
and Francoise’s two sons, Denis and Emmanuel ROBERT,
came to the estate in 1986 and 1990 respectively, after they
completed their studies in wine growing. Sébastien
PRADAL, whose mother is Alphonse’s youngest sister,
joined the family estate in 2005 after completing similar studies.
Today,
three cousins manage the Mas d’Intras: Denis and Emmanuel
ROBERT and Sébastien PRADAL. One part-time employee is
also part of the team: Magalie ROBERT - Emmanuel's
wife..
