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Estelle Touzet
Head sommelier, Le Meurice, Paris

Originally from the Loire region, Le Meurice’s vivacious head sommelier, oversees the 30,000 bottles and 1,100 references on Le Meurice’s wine list. One might expect the wine list available at the oldest Parisian palace hotel to offer primarily French wine. Not so for Le Meurice, whose list, carefully created by young and adventurous Touzet, pushes the boundaries of the wine world by including wines from Australia, America and New Zealand.
Le Meurice’s wine cellar, which Touzet oversees, contains 600 of the hotel’s best bottles including a Romanée Conti 2003 and a Vouvray Le Haut Lieu 1ère Trie Huet 1959.
 
Touzet says: “One of the reasons why I love my job is that I am lucky enough to be in an exceptional place, working with passionate people who are always enthusiastic. I have the opportunity to compose a wine list with complete freedom which takes our clients on a trip through French and foreign vineyards, tasting daring blends. Clients trust us and you can’t put a price on that.”
 
Touzet developed a passion for wine and gastronomy at a young age, hosting a culinary show on local radio before receiving wine training at the Lycée Albert de Mum. She subsequently went on to work at Château de Cordeillan Bages in the Medoc vineyards, Restaurant Guy Savoy, Hotel Le Bristol and Hotel de Crillon in Paris and Tom Aikens in London, before joining Le Meurice in 2008 where she inspires a team of five people.
 
Once a month, Touzet plays host at an informal and lightly themed food and wine tasting called Les Nocturnes 228 open to both hotel and non-hotel guests. Each session comprises four wines paired with four canapés.