Haut-Brion restaurant and wine shop opens in Paris

The owner of Château Haut-Brion, Domaine Clarence Dillon, has opened its fine dining restaurant and wine shop in central Paris.

Domaine Clarence Dillon, owner of Châteaux Haut-Brion, La Mission Haut-Brion and Quintus, officially opened Le Clarence restaurant last night (17 November). It is located in an 18th century hôtel particulier by the Grand Palais museum and art gallery in Paris.

The opening had originally been scheduled for last Saturday, but organisers did not feel it would be appropriate to go ahead in light of the brutal terror attacks on bars, restaurants, a music venue and a football stadium in the French capital, which have left 133 dead and many more injured.

In a spirit of defiance, many Parisians have this week made a point of visiting bars and bistros in the city and using the Twitter hashtag ‘#jesuisenterrasse’.

Staff at Le Clarence observed a minute’s silence for Paris victims, said a spokesperson for the group. ‘Everyone is shocked [by what happened],’ she said.

The restaurant is named after the original member of the Dillon family to come to Bordeaux and who bought Haut-Brion in 1935.

It will be run by Michelin-starred chef Christophe Pelé, who previously worked at La Bigarrade and the Royal Monceau. Antoine Petrus, Meilleur Ouvrier de France Sommellerie in 2011, who has worked and both El Bulli and Le Crillon, will be in charge of the wine list.

The building, now known as Hotel Dillon, was constructed in 1895. Its location is close to the only surviving part of the buildings that held the 1855 Paris Exhibition where Haut-Brion was named a First Growth, and besides the wine shop and restaurant will be the new Paris headquarters of the company.

The lunch menu on opening will be at €90, and the evening at €190. The wine store will focus on the ‘great terroirs of France’ in the words of owner Prince Robert of Luxembourg, although for the first three months will concentrate only on the wines of their own estates, to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the Dillon family’s purchase.

(Additional reporting and editing by Chris Mercer)