Everything you need to know about one of this year’s most anticipated fine wine events in Monaco.
For wine connoisseurs, there is one place in Monaco that excites above all others—the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo Wine Cellars. Created in 1874 at the request of Marie Blanc, they remain the biggest hotel cellars in the world. Featuring a collection that’s inestimable in value, the vaults are home to over 350,000 bottles laid over 1.5 km, with almost 6,000 different labels, including many rare wines from across the globe.
This year, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the cellars’ opening, Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer has organised a series of special events and offerings.
Throughout the year until the end of October, guests at the restaurants of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer Resort will be able to enjoy a selection of rare and iconic fine French wines by the glass for the first time. The special wine list will complement the existing one and feature vintage drops from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhône and Loire Valleys—meticulously selected by the resort’s sommeliers.
The cellars have also re-ignited production of the Grande Champagne Premier Cru de Cognac—a highly crafted XO Extra Old quality Champagne cognac composed of liqueurs from the finest Champagne locations, including Segonzac Saint-Preuil and Bonneuil, and aged for decades in oak casks in cool, humid cellars. This unique world vintage is available all through the year at the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer Resort, in the cellars of Hôtel de Paris and in the Casino de Monte-Carlo boutique.
The anniversary celebrations will conclude on November 7th with a special dinner in the atmospheric surrounds of the wine cellars. Guests will enjoy a meal created by Emmanuel Pilon, chef at Le Louis XV— Alain Ducasse at Hôtel de Paris, paired with Moët Hennessy Champagne. The dinner will be preceded with a tasting and a talk on climate change and its effects on Champagne.
“The 150 years of the cellars in Hôtel de Paris celebrate the fabulous inheritance from Marie Blanc, as well as the passion and talent of our cellar-keepers and sommeliers who bring this heritage to fruition, whether in the heart of the cellars, or in our 30 restaurants and bars today,” says Stéphane Valeri, chairman and CEO of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer. “For our group, this is a big, beautiful story about passing on and sharing. We are offering our clients this inheritance, to enjoy an unforgettable experience in our cellars that are unique in the world.”
