wine cellars Paris wine cellars

Drouant Vintage philosophy Drouant Café de la Paix Le Carré des Feuillants

L’Atelier Joel Robuchon Willi’s Wine Bar

Le Cinq

La Tour D’argent Il Vino

With a host of Paris expanding their cellars, finding your way around French wines has never been easier. John Brunton offers an insider’s guide to the best venues Le Jules Verne

aris is renowned for being a news for a different reason. Famed chef Paris Vendome hotel, where the 120 bottles in Le Cinq can call before and Brit and American expats, or local Parisian who gained fame when he was crowned gastronomic paradise, but Antoine Westermann shocked the world of on the wine list are sensibly displayed by request a tour of the cellars, which is the wine lovers. The cuisine is classic French “world’s best sommelier”, the sleek Il Vino is just as proud of its wines as its haute cuisine by resigning the prized three price, starting at around £19. perfect complement to the gourmet cuisine – especially the irresistible crème brûlée turns gastronomy on its head by making cuisine, and the City of Light has stars of his restaurant prepared by chef Philippe Legendre. – while the wine list runs to 250 vintages the wine, rather than the cuisine, the most a stellar selection of restaurants to come to the capital and revitalise Drouant LA TOUR D’ARGENT from the 7,000 bottles in the cellar. This is important thing you choose. Once the client P whose wine lists and maze-like cellars are into a fashionable, reasonably priced venue. 15-17 quai de la Tournelle, L’ATELIER DE JOEL the place to taste Côtes-du-Rhône wines, has decided which wine tempts them from just as big attractions as the cooking. Fortunately, he couldn’t bear to part with 75005 Paris; tel +33 143 542 331; ROBUCHON with over 30 different Côte Rôtie producers. the 700-long list, the sommelier proposes This is an opportunity to discover not just his wine cellar, and brought an incredible tourdargent.com Hotel Pont-Royal, 5-7 rue Williamson also owns the rather chicer what food would best accompany it. Enrico famous names of Burgundy and Bordeaux collection of 16,000 bottles with him. And The legendary La Tour d’Argent is as much Montalembert, 75007 Paris; tel +33 Macéo restaurant next door. is a flamboyant, cosmopolitan Italian, and – Petrus, Romanée-Conti, Château Lafite – each Saturday you can reserve for “lunch a Parisian monument as a restaurant, with 142 225 656; joel-robuchon.com that is reflected in his eclectic collection of but emerging wines from the Languedoc, with a winemaker”, when a “vigneron” will a history stretching back to 1582, and a Situated in the elegant left bank Pont-Royal CAFE DE LA PAIX wines, which spans not just every French the Loire, Corsica, Côtes-du-Rhône and present his latest vintages. wine cellar of 400,000 bottles that is worth Hotel, this gourmet but decidedly casual Hotel Paris Le Grand, 2 rue Scribe, vineyard, but also Australia, South Africa, Alsace. Wine lovers can often arrange for a over £11 million and acknowledged as not restaurant has an outstanding selection of 75009 Paris; tel +33 140 073 232; Spain, Austria and Israel. A set menu starts tour around the cellars before a meal, while LE CARRE DES FEUILLANTS just the greatest in France but arguably the more than 350 wines, with over 35 available ichotelsgroup.com at around £35, going up to a stratospheric some restaurants organise tastings and the 14 rue de Castiglione, 75001 world. Call before and head sommelier, by the glass. Joel Robuchon officially retired The Café de la Paix is like no other hotel- £750, which includes the likes of Petrus and chance to meet winemakers themselves. Paris; tel +33 142 868 282; the amiable David Ridgway, can arrange as a chef over ten years ago – and you’ll restaurant in Paris. Opened in 1858, the Château d’Yquem. As times change and clients no longer carredesfeuillants.fr an unforgettable tour of this subterranean never see him in the kitchen – but when he Grand was created in opulent belle-époque order numerous bottles of wine with their Alain Dutournier is one of those rare chefs labyrinth. And it might be wise to ask opened L’Atelier it launched a completely style by the same architect as the Opéra LE JULES VERNE meals, so new trends are emerging in who is as passionate about wine as he his advice on which wine to order, as La new concept of diners sitting around an Garnier. The life and soul of the hotel, then Tour Eiffel, 5 avenue Anatole France, restaurants where wines by the glass are is about cooking; he is equally at home Tour’s phenomenal wine list runs to 9,000 “open kitchen” that has been copied all over and now, is the bustling street-level Café 75007 Paris; tel +33 145 556 144; offered on a far wider selection; where the opening bottles for a tasting in the cellar references and weighs over 6kg. the world. And now, just across the road de la Paix. For single travellers wanting to tour-eiffel.fr sommelier could propose a glass of Puligny- of Le Carré des Feuillants as he is toiling from L’Atelier, he has opened La Cave de socialise, the Café is famous for its ten- Nowhere in Paris can quite compare with Montrachet served from a jeroboam, and over the stove in his kitchen. For 20 years LE CINQ Joel Robuchon, where wine enthusiasts can person “table d’hôte”, perfect for a quick a meal in the Jules Verne restaurant at the then, rather than choosing from a boring- his restaurant has been a firm Parisian Hotel George V, 31 avenue George stop off for a tasting and select some wine to seafood platter, a chilled glass of Chablis, top of the Eiffel Tower. And now it has looking list of half-bottles, he may suggest favourite, but for some inexplicable reason V, 75008 Paris; tel +33 149 527 000; take home from this 15,000-bottle cellar. and a unique slice of Parisian life. The wine become part of the gastronomic empire of opening a good vintage and decant half of it has been snubbed by the Michelin fourseasons.com/paris list here is extensive, and has a surprising the world’s leading chef, , the it into a beautiful crystal carafe. Guide, which refuses to give him the When the Four Seasons carried out their WILLI’S WINE BAR selection of organic wines. food and wine now match the breathtaking ultimate recognition of a third Michelin £20-million makeover of the George V nine 13 rue des Petits Champs, views. Gérard Margeon looks after the wine DROUANT star. For a truly memorable occasion, his years ago, Eric Beaumard, already one of 75001 Paris; tel +33 142 610 509; IL VINO for all of Ducasse’s restaurants, and for this 16-18 place Gaillon, 75002 Paris; wine cellar can be rented for a meal, while the world’s most renowned sommeliers, williswinebar.com 13 boulevard de la Tour Maubourg, quintessential Parisian locale he has chosen tel +33 142 651 516; drouant.com for those not wanting the full gastronomic persuaded the owners to put aside a cool Mark Williamson, the doyen of British 75007 Paris; tel +33 144 117 200 to be unabashedly chauvinistic, proposing a Drouant is where France’s equivalent of experience of Le Carré, he has also opened £1.5 million for him to create what is now restaurateurs in Paris, has been going Newly opened, Il Vino has immediately wine list entitled “100 per cent France”. It is the Booker, Le Prix Goncourt, is decided a casual bistro, Pinxo (tel +33 140 207 200), one of the city’s finest wine collections, strong for 26 years, and Willi’s, his wine bar/ become the most talked-about restaurant the perfect opportunity to discover the rising each year. But recently it has been in the just around the corner in the Renaissance with over 50,000 bottles. Wine lovers dining restaurant, is brilliant for meeting up with in Paris. The brainchild of Enrico Bernardo, stars of France’s vineyards. n

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