Text: Marcella van Alphen
Photographs: Claire Lessiau

Sommelier Jan Roche leads us down the stairs through an unsuspected 18th century wine cellar, just below the Trudon mansion in the heart of Paris by the royal palace of Le Louvre. Back then, barrels were stored to age for royal consumption by one of the few wine merchants to the king, simply rolled to the royal residence once ready. If the wine story of these historic cellars has been interrupted by the piercing of the 1900 subway tunnels ending the royal connection, today, the dimly lit and stylish cellars have found their original function back. At Les Caves du Louvre, the underground is a paradise for wine lovers where we are about to learn all about wine aromas, grape varieties and ultimately blend our own wine!

Text & Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen

It is underneath the Hotel de Trudon mansion in the heart of Paris where we are exploring the secret 18-century wine cellars which used to connect to the nearby royal palace of Le Louvre. Once a busy storage space where the wine was aging until ready for royal consumption and then its barrels rolled underground to the palace, today, the 600 square meters (6,460 square feet) of stylishly renovated historic cellars house some of Paris’ tastiest workshops! Enter the unexpected world of Les Caves du Louvre to explore the best terroirs of France in an in-depth wine and cheese pairing experience – a during any trip to France!